Something Gained
by PsychicDreams
Summary: Watanuki Kimihiro is a man that many would not hesitate to say has everything one could ever want. To many, this man has everything, but if you ask Watanuki Kimihiro if he has everything, he will answer: “I have nothing.”
1. Prologue: Something Missing

Watanuki Kimihiro is a man that many would not hesitate to say has everything one could ever want. He is a beautiful man, with long black hair, gentle and deep sapphire eyes hidden behind slim spectacles, with a slender but appealing litheness. He owns silken garments of all kinds, tailored just for him, and a thriving business of granting wishes. He is virtually ageless and looks no older than twenty-five. He commands great respect among the spirit world and never has to worry about money or being haunted by spirits he can't handle. His power is unmatched even by gods. Perhaps the only person ever stronger than him was his predecessor, Yuuko Ichihara, before she disappeared from all worlds.

To many, this man has everything.

But every day at five o'clock, Watanuki Kimihiro can be found sitting alone on a bench in the park, wearing an old and somewhat shabby business suit. He's never seen wearing the jacket and his sleeves are always rolled up to his elbows, as if he has just come home from a hard day at work.

Every day, those blue eyes are calm and watch the children play, looking for a specific one. That child will always come to the park at five o'clock with his mother. When that little boy appears, a soft smile comes across his pretty features and mothers around him blush. And as always, the little boy spots him right away and rushes up to talk to him.

"Hey, Mister! You're here again! Why do you always come every day?"

And whenever the child asks this, Watanuki Kimihiro will smile sadly and say, "This place is a very important place. I lost something very precious here a long time ago."

"Really? Want me to help you look for it?"

Watanuki Kimihiro will laugh if the boy asks this. "You don't need to. It still comes here and I see it every day."

But before the boy can ask, as he will try to every day, what that is, his mother will call him away to play with the other children and with a wave, he will rush off like exuberant children always do. Watanuki Kimihiro will remain on that bench with that smile on his face until the boy goes home. Then he will get up and leave to go back to his shop.

When he enters, there are two voices that will call out, "Welcome back, Master!" And they will always ask, "Did you see him today too?"

"I'm back, Maru, Moro. And yes, I did."

They will rush up to him with a change of clothes into silk or velvet, as he assumes his role of wish granter. A small, strange black creature will come to perch on his shoulder, wishing him home, and a pipe fox will launch itself from its sleep and wind around his neck. The interior of his shop is always clean and beautiful things line the walls. It is intricate, even if it seems small, and the bedroom is even close to palatial.

People would say, when presented with the image of this person, that he has everything, but if you ask Watanuki Kimihiro if he has everything, he will answer:

"I have nothing."

If you ask Watanuki Kimihiro what he lost in the park a long time, he will answer:

"My heart."

If you ask what his heart was, he will answer:

"Doumeki Shizuka."

Because while many would say that Watanuki Kimihiro has everything, in truth, he has everything but what matters. Long ago, he lost the one love of his life and he visits the park every day where it happened and he held the lifeless body in his arms for hours until his whole form was as numb and stiff as his heart.

Every day, Watanuki Kimihiro grants wishes, but everyone knows that at five o'clock, he can only be found at that park and watches with greedy and loving eyes at the little boy that always visits there with his mother. He loves and cares from a distance to the reincarnation of his true love, waiting for the day when they can be together once again.

Watanuki Kimihiro has everything and nothing.

** End **  



	2. Chapter 1

"Hello, Shizuka-kun."

Doumeki Shizuka turned around at the sound of a familiar voice and he detours to sit down on the bench next to the older man. Every day at five o'clock, this businessman will be here, without fail. There was never a day that he hadn't seen him there. Even during the rainy days, when he happened to be running an errand, he would be there.

He'd seen this man here for years. It was almost like it was routine, even after eighteen years. He wondered what it was about this place that drew this man to it like a drug. It had gotten to the point where often he felt guilty about not going, since the man seemed so…lonely and sad.

"Hello, Watanuki-san. You're here as usual." After a moment, he blinked and then took a good look at him. Today, he no longer wore that old and shabby business outfit. Today, amazingly enough, he seemed to be wearing silk and looked distinctly out of place on the crusty, decrepit bench. The style reminded him vaguely of those Chinese outfits that he'd always found oddly attractive. It was a deep, vibrant blue, much like his eyes, and he radiated a strange sort of calmness and power, unlike he'd ever had before.

"Something special about today? You're all dressed up."

"This is the day. The anniversary that I lost the person I loved the most in this very park."

"Oh…" He bit his tongue a little harder than necessary to avoid letting something slip out. For eighteen years he'd met this man almost every single day and he dared not let show that he had come to think very highly and very lovingly of this man. It wasn't unheard of, he knew, for those of his age to develop crushes for people older than them, even men, but Shizuka knew this was more than just admiration or a crush.

"This is your senior year in high school, Shizuka-kun?"

"Yup."

"Where are you planning to go to college?"

"Well, I was thinking about Tokyo U, if I could get in."

"I'm sure you can. You're very smart."

The only problem with going to Tokyo University was that it was take him away from Watanuki Kimihiro. His parents had been pushing him toward it since he was little. His father was a famous lawyer; his mother, a successful doctor. They'd met in the university and now were convinced that it was some sort of sacred place. He wondered if they also believed that his "true love" was going to be there too. Too bad that he had no intention of being with anyone other than Watanuki.

"Watanuki-san, can I ask you something?"

"You are free to ask whatever you want, Shizuka-kun." That secret, soft smile that he had fallen in love with slipped over that lovely face and his heart began beating hard against his chest once again. He wanted to know more about this man; he wanted to know _everything_. He wanted to see and know the faces that he never saw in these conversations on the bench for an hour.

"Are you human?"

There was a moment of silence before those sapphire eyes touched his greenish-gold ones. He'd never told his parents, but he'd had a strange gift since he was born. He could just tell that there were things not right, or strange. He couldn't really see it, but he could sense the stuff. As if it was just out of reach behind a thin curtain and if he could reach it, he could pull it aside and see it all.

"Why would you ask?"

He tried to avoid licking his lips in nervousness. Naturally, Watanuki hadn't gotten upset or even surprised at the question, but that was Watanuki for you. He could hide a lot behind that gentle expression. "Well, it's been eighteen years Watanuki-san, and you haven't changed a single bit. You haven't gotten older at all and you're always here, even if it's raining. And I swear at one point, I saw you stand in the rain and you weren't getting wet at all. Not to mention your looks…"

"What about my looks?"

Shizuka flushed just a little bit. "Well, I don't think humans can look as pretty as you do…at least not without plastic surgery."

He watched as Watanuki's cheeks flushed with a blush and an embarrassed chuckle escaped from those lips that he had been dreaming about catching for years. It was the first time he'd ever heard such a beautiful sound and he wondered what it would sound like if Watanuki really, truly _laughed_.

"Thank you, Shizuka-kun. That's nice of you to say." There was a pause while he shifted uncomfortably under that blue gaze. "Do you happen to have any special senses, Shizuka-kun?"

"Well…yeah, sort of. I've been able to sense that things are always there that I just can't see. They're there, I know they are, but I just can't see or touch them. Which is why I asked you today. I've gotten a strange feeling from you today that I've never had before."

"Are you really ready to know, Shizuka-kun? This is a world you can't leave once you enter it. It will take over your whole life, even if you don't want to let it."

He wanted to say that if it was for Watanuki, he'd do anything, but that would give away his feelings far sooner than he was comfortable with. The last thing he wanted to do was scare the man away and he'd never see him again.

"I'm really ready, Watanuki-san."

"Then follow me."

Shizuka bit his lip as he followed silently behind the man and his stomach began to tie in knots. Even at eighteen, his parents had a curfew for him and he knew that he was going to miss it, but he suddenly didn't care. He had this reckless energy and impulses, wanting to just throw himself into the unknown void with a light heart, so long as Watanuki was with him.

The place he led him to was a small shop, surrounded by two huge corporate buildings, hidden from sight in the dark. A fence of wood surrounded it and the lawn was well kempt. It was an old style house, the likes he hadn't seen outside of textbooks, but Watanuki didn't seem at all surprised. Just how old _was _ Watanuki?

"Come in."

He realized with a start that he'd just been standing, and with a strange sense of nostalgia too. His legs suddenly began moving on their own. Every step seemed to hold a great importance, as if he was walking down a road that was overwhelming. As if it were his destiny.

"It's hitsuzen," Watanuki told him, as if reading his thoughts, standing in the courtyard and watching each other. "It's fate. You were destined to come here, with me."

And for the first time, as if he felt relaxed enough to do so, the smile on Watanuki's face dazzled him in its brightness. It held no hints of sadness or melancholy. In fact, it didn't look like it could become happier. And he fit right in with the old but well-taken care of feel of the shop.

"Master is back, Master is back!"

The twin voices surprised him and he turned to see two children running toward them. One had short pink hair and the other impossibly long pale blue. They dashed around Watanuki and him, singing in young voices 'Master is back'. They didn't seem at all surprised that he was there or even ask who he was.

"Yo, Watanuki!"

He blinked in surprise when a small black creature literally bounced out of nowhere and landed on his shoulder, speaking just like a normal person. His wide eyes must have been demanding an explanation since Watanuki turned to him with another grin. "The two girls are Moro-dashi and Maru-dashi and this is Mokona."

"Moro…dashi…Maru…dashi…"

Watanuki chuckled. "I didn't name them, my predecessor did. They were her creation. They're soulless children that can only stay in this shop. She also made Mokona here. Oh, and the other Mokona too there."

Shizuka blinked and finally realized that there was a carbon copy of the black creature on Watanuki's shoulder on his, only this one was white. Both had sapphire gems on their foreheads. "So they're both…Mokona?"

"Yes, quite."

"You see, this shop is here and isn't here. It's sort of in a strange little pocket area between all the worlds. That's why Maru-chan and Moro-chan can stay here with no problem. It's not truly in the reality you know."

"Worlds? As in plural?"

"Later, Shizuka-kun. Not everything at once. Maru-chan, Moro-chan, please show him inside. I'll be there in a minute."

He followed the children in bewilderment, trying to assimilate it all. Well, he had wanted to know everything there was about Watanuki, hadn't he? The inside of the shop was nearly spotless, which didn't seem surprising for some reason. It wasn't something you could call a tour, but he did catch a glimpse of a partially open door and a huge bed, covered with lovely dark blue and black covers before being led into a comfortable room with a low sofa and many pillows.

A moment later, Watanuki entered, bearing a tray of tea that he set on the floor between them before going behind a changing screen that he hadn't noticed before. Shizuka flushed a little as he found himself admiring the shadow cast against the boards, Maru and Moro running back and forth, carrying cloth or belts to help him change.

"You see, Shizuka-kun, my business, I guess you could call it, is granting wishes."

"Wishes?"

"Yes. People only come into this shop unless they need a wish granted. In exchange for the equal price, I can grant those wishes."

"In exchange for what?"

"Whatever they have that is equal in price to the wish. Not for money, but something that is precious to the person who asked for it in exchange. A proper payment, equal to the wish, must be paid otherwise there will be dire consequences. Sometimes even a soul is necessary."

"A soul? You mean like death…?"

"Of course not. Killing someone is very weighty and the weight of a murder can be heavy enough kill someone. No, a soul can imply many things. A soul can be, for example, an item of great value to someone. If you want a wish granted, you must give up something valuable in exchange."

"You said that only people who are meant to could come in here. Does that mean I'm meant to be here too? Why?"

There was a silence for a few seconds and Watanuki stepped out from behind the changing screen. "All in due time, Shizuka-kun," he murmured, but Shizuka almost didn't hear him, too busy trying not to let his jaw drop. The kimono that Watanuki wore was nothing short of stunning on him. It was not a regular, simple one that most men wore even during festivals, but something out a fable, that a feudal lord might wear with pride.

"Shizuka-kun?"

"Sorry, I was just a little stunned at how that suits you," he muttered, trying to make the words nonchalant.

A faint blush touched those cheeks and that genuine smile filtered over that luscious mouth again. "Thank you."

They sat in silence while they sipped the tea, which was actually quite amazingly good. His mother was only standard when it came to cooking and tea, mostly because she had always concentrated on saving patients rather than taking care of the home. His father seemed incapable of doing anything except burning food and ruining liquids.

"Shizuka-kun, would you like to work here?"

"Work here? How?"

"I can always use a pair of legs to do errands for me. Of course, I'll have Mokona accompany you in the beginning, so that it can boost your power and you can see the things you can sense. Naturally, your power will grow over time, but for a time, until it grows enough by itself to see the things you sense, Mokona will prove useful."

"Which one?"

He touched the white Mokona, who seemed to be in an intense chess battle with the black one. "This one. The black one has the ability to seal magic, while the white has the power to boost it."

"I'd like to work here, but my—"

"You're parents would object?"

For some reason, he squirmed just a little. It was somewhat embarrassing to be eighteen, still have a curfew, and have overprotective parents. "Well, I don't know if they'd object or not. They'd probably want to meet you and see the shop."

"Don't worry, a meeting won't be a problem. When you go home tonight and tell them, if they have concerns, we can meet at a small coffee shop down the road. Let me write down the address. It happens to be run by a friend of mine."

"Is that friend…?"

"Yes, she is a spirit. I've known her since I was in high school."

"I wish I could have seen you in high school," he commented innocently, but was surprised as suddenly the paper that Watanuki was writing on ripped a perfect little hole as he pressed down too hard with his pen.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No, my hand just slipped," Watanuki assured him, but with the almost haunted look in those blue eyes, Shizuka knew that he was lying. He wanted to call him on it, but didn't dare. He wanted to be able to say and do things as he liked with Watanuki, but he didn't think he had the right yet. Their relationship just wasn't close enough yet and that's when Shizuka made the decision that he would make their relationship close enough that Watanuki could confide in him and they could be themselves around each other.

"You should get going now, otherwise you'll really be home late."

****

Watanuki watched Shizuka leave the gates of the shop and his eyes memorized the shape of that strong back. Even at eighteen, he was still as built as ever. He didn't think there was an archery club in the boy's high school, but he wondered if he gave Shizuka a bow again and blindfolded him, if he could hit the target perfectly like he did before.

His heart hadn't been this full and this light for many, many years. He'd been granting wishes in Yuuko's place for nearly eighty years now and in all that time, he had gotten used to the weight of his loneliness and grief that he had no longer noticed it until it was gone. He felt like dancing through the halls of the shop, singing at the top of his lungs. It would still take time to have Shizuka fall in love with him, but after waiting so long for this very chance, he could be patient.

Yes, he could be patient.

** End Chapter 1 **


	3. Chapter 2

Doumeki Aiko fiddled with her napkin in her lap under the table where it wouldn't be seen as she waited. Her son was sitting next to her, looking perfectly calm and quite in place of the small coffee shop. She, however, looked quite out of place. She _felt_ out of place. She wore a pants suit and had been out to impress until she'd walked in this door and felt the homey feel. Somehow, she had expected an exclusive kind of place. She would have thought her son would have chosen someone with connections and a high reputation to work part-time for.

There was the jingle of a bell at the door to the coffee shop and she glanced up to see a man enter. When her son lifted his head and beckoned him over, she figured this man was the person she was supposed to be meeting. His clothes weren't of the highest quality, and cut in an older style, but his aura of responsibility overrode what he wore and she changed her initial findings about him. He fit right in with the shop. Nice but not overwhelming clothes, dignified but still reachable.

"Only yourself, Doumeki-san?" the man inquired as he sat down.

"My husband is in court at the moment," she replied and crossed her arms loosely over her chest, suddenly no longer nervous. This man's eyes held a coiled strength in them, someone she was used to encountering in her time as a high-profile doctor.

"To be honest," she started off, "I'm not entirely pleased with the idea of my son having a part-time job, especially during his senior year and having to prepare for exams for Tokyo University."

"But it isn't certain if he's going to be going there. He could choose another college nearby."

"He'll be going to Tokyo University," she stated flatly and there was a moment of awkward silence.

"Are you ready to order?" asked a woman as she approached their table. Her hair was perhaps the longest Aiko had ever seen in modern days, but looked very thick and lovely, full of curls. Her eyes were a dark, hunter green and the smile she gave them was bright and cheery.

"Ah, Himawari-chan. The usual for me, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Watanuki-kun. It'd be my pleasure."

Aiko had glanced at the menu previously while they had waited for this man's entrance. "I'll have the green tea, that is all." Shizuka only shook his head when asked what he would want and she glanced at him in speculation. That wasn't like her son.

"You seem to know this place well," she commented.

"Quite. Himawari-chan is the owner. We've known each other since high school."

"That explains why she was the one that served us." She straightened out her jacket, making sure there were no unnecessary creases, before speaking again. "As I was saying, I'm not sure I like the idea of my son working part-time. What exactly is it that you do?"

"I own an antique store," the man answered promptly as her tea was placed in front of her and a small slice of cake and tea in front of the shop owner. "I specialize in rare items and their acquisitions."

Her lips pursed as she watched him eat the small piece of cake peacefully. "Watanuki-san, how do I know that I can trust you with my son? He is a bright young man that I don't want steered down the wrong path."

There was a moment of silence before those blue eyes, hidden by thin, silver wired glasses, locked with her gaze. "Doumeki-san, I don't believe anyone but Shizuka-kun can tell what the wrong path is for himself. It is his choice whether he accepts my offer of working part-time at my shop. Neither you, nor myself have any right whatsoever to interfere with that. I just offered to meet you to set your mind at ease of worries, not to ask for your permission for your son."

Aiko stiffened at the small speech, said without heat but with an overbearing amount of conviction and strength in his voice. This man reminded her of the strength of her husband when he was in court. He knew exactly what to say, what not to say, and how to get his way.

"Fine," she said at last, having weighed his character more than the idea of Shizuka having a part time job. It was true that what he said was correct, but she was not ready to let go of her son and let him leave her protected nest.

"Just one thing before you go, Doumeki-san," Watanuki added as she was about to stand up.

"Yes?"

"Perhaps it would be wise to remove your curfew from your son. It almost seems like you don't trust him. I would sincerely hope that's not the case."

Her eyes involuntarily looked at her son, feeling rebuffed by the man's words, and he stared straight back at her, as if agreeing with the shop owner. It went against every instinct that her mother's heart gave her, but she knew that at eighteen years old, she was no longer protecting but smothering her child.

"I will talk to my husband about the curfew issue." Her beeper suddenly went off and she checked it with a grimace. So much for her day off. Doctors never really did get days off. "I'm afraid I have to leave you for now. I'll see you tonight, Shizuka."

If she had turned around to glance at the two men at the table, she would have seen a much warmer atmosphere without her presence.

****

"You must have worked some magic, because I've never seen my mother agree to anything that fast," Shizuka commented as they ambled back to the shop.

Watanuki glanced at the boy next to him and he was tempted to tell him just how nervous he had been. The last time he'd been nervous about anything was sixty years ago, during a particularly huge wish that he hadn't been sure he could grant. He had forgotten the kinds of knots his stomach could do. Probably the only reason he'd been able to succeed in what he'd done was because he had gone into the discussion with the mentality that failure was not an option.

Because it wasn't. He'd lost Shizuka once before and he would be _damned_ if he'd lose him again when he'd finally gotten the chance of a lifetime in front of him.

"I've dealt with spirits much like her and I've seen her type before. Being belligerent won't work, but neither will be being courteous and laid back about it. That only leaves quietly determined, showing in a non-aggressive way that you're not going to back down because what you know is right."

Shizuka glanced at him and he tried not to get lost in those green-gold eyes. They weren't the pure golden color that they had been when they'd been in high school together, but the green of his eyes was surrounded at the edges with a dusting of gold in a way that was fascinating. And damn it, if Shizuka still wasn't taller than him!

He tore his eyes from that inquiring gaze and glanced down at the uniform he had long since memorized: black pants, white shirt, and a midnight blue blazer with the symbol of his high school on the pocket. The blazer was, as usual, unbuttoned, as well as the first top buttons of his white shirt, exposing a well-muscled neck that just begged to be kissed. It was hardly his imagination; he memorized what Shizuka had been like before he'd died and his reincarnation was even more filled out and at least two inches taller than he'd been before.

"Is something wrong, Watanuki-san?"

Inwardly, Watanuki jumped, startled out of ruminations and he put on his best, reassuring smile. "Nothing's wrong, I was just remembering."

"Remembering what?"

Watanuki just couldn't say it and lapsed into silence. He didn't think he'd ever be able to let go of the past they'd shared when he'd been sixteen until it was clear that Shizuka could either love him or not now. If he couldn't, then that just meant that all he'd have were his memories to fall back with his love. If he could, if it could actually happen, he could finally let go of the past and enjoy the present.

Maru and Moro welcomed them home with panache and he felt his tension drain away now that they were in the shop. As soon as he left the courtyard and back into the world, there was always that feeling of tautness that gripped him, readied for anything. This was probably because of when he was younger. After Shizuka had died, he'd never felt safe anywhere except at the shop. Yuuko had taken pains after that to make sure he was protected at all times when she asked him for jobs done.

He hadn't realized just how protected and safe he'd felt around Shizuka until he hadn't had it anymore.

But that feeling was coming back again now, the longer he stayed around the reincarnation of his love. He'd been waiting Shizuka's whole life to be able to enjoy this. Sure, an hour of talking almost every day was good, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. It was only something to tide him over. This was what he needed: Shizuka in the shop, talking with him, being with him.

He hid his nervously shaking hands in his pockets as he lounged on the chair in the room all visitors were brought, including Shizuka when he'd first entered. Unlike Yuuko who had drunk and smoked, he touched neither without reason and still spent his time making sure the shop was clean, though there wasn't a lot to do with no one to mess it up. It helped soothe his nerves. The first time he'd cleaned the treasure room when he became the owner of the shop, he kept expecting when he went back to it that it'd be dusty and disarranged again, but it hadn't been. It was almost like there was magic in the woodwork of the shop that catered and changed to fit the pace of the owner. Yuuko had liked things messy and her alcohol and lounging, but he preferred to be moving and doing things, so things had seemed to change for him.

It was a puzzle.

"So now that you are hired," he commented to the young boy, glad that his voice wasn't shaking as much as his insides and his pounding heart, "please drop by every day after school, and I'll have things for you to do, starting tomorrow."

"I'll be sure to."

****

Shizuka was already at the gate of the school by the time he heard the calling of his name. If he didn't hurry, he'd be late. Now that he was working for Watanuki and would see him on a daily basis, he could barely stand the thought of school, knowing that it was only hours before he'd get to see him again. He turned, glancing at his watch impatiently, while he waited for her to reach him.

Hisano Kagami.

He had known her since middle school and last year had confessed to him. Turning her down was hard, as he really did like their friendship, but had no way of returning her feelings. He needn't have worried. She had spent the latter half of that year and so far the entire one of this one convinced that he would eventually fall in love with her, which was fine until she started pretending like she was his girlfriend.

She was different from other girls he'd known, which was why he liked her in the first place as a friend, but sometimes her overwhelming confidence in her looks and personality, as if assured she'd get anyone she wanted, grated on his nerves.

"Haruki said he can't make it, he's got club today, but we can catch him tomorrow as usual."

Shino Haruki was his best friend and the star of the basketball team. They'd known each other since elementary school and had often played in the park with him, when he'd always meet Watanuki. Haruki was, perhaps, the only person in the world that really knew him best and even about his feelings for Watanuki. As much as he disliked talking about his feelings, perhaps conditioning from the fact that his parents never listened to his opinions at home, Haruki was the only one he could bear to let out all the embarrassing stuff too.

The three of them usually always walked home together: the tomboy Kagami with her black hair cut short around her head, the tall and eye catching Haruki, and the studious Shizuka.

"Sorry, Kagami, but I can't walk home with you today."

"What? Why not?"

"I've got a part time job now that I go to every day after school."

"Really?" She had a right to be surprised since his parents had objected to any kind of part time job for years while he was in school, insisting on him concentrating on his studying. It was easier to do what they wanted than try to get them to listen. "Your parents agreed? What about the curfew?"

"Curfew is gone and Mom agreed. She even met him." He glanced at his watch impatiently, eager to be gone. But Kagami wasn't going to let him go so easily, she wanted details.

"That's incredible. Let me walk you there, I want to see the kind of place you work at."

Damn, that was not a good idea. There was a possibility that she wouldn't even see the shop and he didn't want to pull her into the supernatural world, either. Not to mention, he didn't know if Watanuki would approve.

"That's not such a good idea, Kagami. I just started there yesterday. Give it a little while for me to get settled and comfortable there. Anything now at this stage might make me lose this job."

After an annoyingly long two minutes, Kagami finally nodded. "I s'pose you're right. Some employers are finicky like that. They want to see you working and if they see you bring a friend on the second day, they might get really upset."

"Glad you understand and I have to go, or I'll be late."

He was eager to be moving. In the two times that he'd traveled down the streets to the shop, it felt like a lifetimes worth. That if he bothered to close his eyes and just let his feet do the walking, he knew with certainty he'd be there without a wrong turn. It was a strange sensation, the like of which he'd never had before.

When he reached the gate and entered the courtyard, Watanuki was sitting on the porch. His sapphire eyes, which had been closed, opened at the sound of his footsteps. "You're late, Shizuka-kun."

"Sorry, I had to explain to my friends that I have a part time job now."

It didn't seem like Watanuki was angry, but he didn't say anything for such a long moment that he wondered if somehow something was bothering the man. For all the fact that his expression seemed to change little, there was still emotions that crossed that face fluidly all the time. He craved the knowledge to know what those emotions were, to be able to read Watanuki like a book.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if you're a little late on your first day of work, but try not to make it a habit." The voice was devoid of anything that might hint of irritation or anger, but he still couldn't help feeling that there was something bothering his new employer. "Anyway, your errand today is a simple one. I'm going to give you a package and you're going to deliver it for me to someone. This time, Mokona won't have to go with you, but I will send along just a little something for those 'just in case' moments."

Something slithered from beneath the robes that Watanuki wore and blinked at him. It took him a moment to realize that it looked like a snake and yet didn't. It seemed to have a body of a snake, except it was fuzzy pale brown, but the black, beady blinking eyes were not like any snakes at all. He leaned down to get a closer look, tentatively touching it, and it slithered immediately up his arm, as if it had no problem with strangers. It rubbed against his cheek a little, as if to say 'welcome back'. Which was strange, since he'd never seen it before in his life.

"What is this?" he asked, with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity, gently reaching out to touch the thing. He wondered if he dared hold it or touch it hard. It seemed so fragile and he didn't want to hurt it.

"It's a kudakitsune. A pipe-fox spirit. A gift to my predecessor in return for a job a long, long time ago. He's been with me since then. I call him Kuda, for lack of anything else." Watanuki smiled a little at him and it seemed as if it was full of amusement at some thought. "Now, if you could fetch me some water from the well while I go get a vase out of storage…"

** End **

There are some new characters that I created for this story. I'm going to have previous xxxholic characters show up in this story, naturally, to balance out the new ones, so it's a nice new mix. Can't have a story like this without new faces, but I don't want it to see AU with all new, like a new generation (which I hate stuff like that). Hopefully you'll come to like the new characters when I have time to develop them and show you some complex sides :) 


	4. Chapter 3

Shizuka coughed up water, finding himself completely soaked. What the hell was that? He could remember getting the water from the well and pouring it into the vase, then Watanuki dropping some crystals into it. Next thing he knew, he had been nearly drowning.

The light around him was nearly too bright and he closed one eye, shading his eyes against the glare, and looked around. The field he was in was just filled with daffodils. He clutched the package in his hand, no bigger than his palm, and tried to remember the directions that Watanuki had given him.

"Just have to start walking until I hear a flute, huh?"

He had the distinct feeling that he was being watched, but no matter where he looked, there was no one around. Shaking his arm of the water that still clung to his jacket, he nearly choked when the pipe fox slipped from under his shirt to nearly strangle his neck. Absentmindedly, once he got over the shock, he reached up to stroke it and it left a little kiss on his cheek.

It was actually kinda cute.

Soon the bright landscape was replaced with a little more diluted light and the daffodils had thinned out so that he could actually see stretches of just grass. It seemed as if the pipe fox knew where he was supposed to be going, so he merely followed the gentle tugging around his neck.

It wasn't long before he knew that he wasn't alone. He could not only hear flute sounds, but there was the sound of the displacement of air and he glanced up to see what appeared to be babies with wings in trenchcoats riding snowboards. They surrounded him and he felt distinctly uncomfortable with their unblinking stares.

"Is that him?"

"It's got to be."

"I didn't think that it would actually happen."

"Yeah, humans are weird."

"Do you think that The Crevan is happy?"

"Well, he needs him. The Butterfly didn't need anyone."

He listened to them mutter among themselves, growing ever more confused. What appeared to be the leader, one wearing sunglasses, dropped in front of him and he jumped a little in surprise of the quick movement. The gaze seemed to measure him minutely, as if looking for something.

"It's been a while. You sure took you a long time getting to him. The Crevan's been waiting for you, all by himself."

"What? Crevan? What's that?"

There was a moment of silence and then whispers like hissing fires broke out around him. He felt almost as if he had made some huge admonition that he should or shouldn't have made. Had he just made a huge blunder? He hoped not, because he didn't want to bring trouble to Watanuki.

"You mean he doesn't _know_?"

"Is that even possible?"

"Really, humans are hopeless."

"Should we tell him?"

"We shouldn't."

"We should. She'd want us to since The Crevan likes him so much."

"Quiet!" the leader hissed, and the others fell to silence, glancing among themselves like fervent children. After a moment, that stern gaze was turned back to him and Shizuka clutched the package tightly in his hand, as if reminding him what he was there for.

"Crevan means fox. That's what we call the wish granter."

"You mean Watanuki-san?"

"Yes."

"What's The Butterfly?"

"That was his predecessor, the one who trained him to this position. She disappeared nearly eighty years ago and nobody's heard from her since. Now hurry up, she's waiting."

"She?"

"Just come!"

Shizuka frowned a little, not liking being ordered with that curt tone, but considering he was surrounded by these supernatural beings, antagonizing them was probably _not_ a good idea. He reached up to pet the pipe fox, wondering how this was protection. It was so small and fragile-looking. It didn't look like it could protect itself, much less anyone else.

The sound of the flute playing was growing stronger and finally, he broke through the brush to see a stream overlooked by a huge rock. Sitting on the rock was a beautiful woman, wearing a very old-style kimono. The flute in her hands was simple, but even from this distance, he could see it cared for. Her black hair hung down to her shoulders and when she looked up, her smile was serene and welcoming.

"Welcome. It's been a long time."

Before he could say anything, the snowboarding little babies rushed to her and, hovering around her, burst out talking all at once. He could barely catch the phrases "doesn't remember" and "tell him", and only if he strained his ears.

With a bit of impatience, he approached her and held out his hand with the small box in it. He was eager to get back to Watanuki. He had so many questions now that he wanted to ask, such as what these things were talking about him not remembering.

"Watanuki-san asked me to bring this to you," he interrupted.

She took the package and pulled out what had to be the most beautiful and elegant hair clip he'd ever seen. Shaped like a flower, with long beads hanging from it, it shone almost too brightly to look on. And it suddenly made him worry. Such a pretty gift…were they together? There was no saying that Watanuki couldn't be dating a spirit, considering what he was. But if they were, why would he have Shizuka deliver it? Wouldn't he want to give it in person? What if he had wanted to, but hadn't been able to make the time?

His emotions kept sliding from hope to despair every few seconds while she looked at it and put it on with a smile. This was the first question he was going to be asking when he got back.

****

Watanuki gripped his teacup in his hands, watching the chessboard. After eighty-some odd years, he still wasn't able to beat either of the Mokona's at chess. As far as he knew, Yuuko had never lost a chess game against them, but he didn't seem to inherit that ability along with the powers of wish granter.

Maybe it was because his mind was elsewhere. He was constantly thinking about Shizuka and when he would come back. Had he gotten lost maybe? No, the pipe fox would lead him where he should go. Would the karasu tengu recognize him? And the biggest fear: would they tell Shizuka about their history?

It wasn't that he didn't want Shizuka to remember their past. In fact, he'd be delighted if he did. But that was just it. He wanted Shizuka to remember, not to be told. If he was told, wasn't it possible that he might not believe it or even accuse him of not liking Shizuka for himself, only what he might have been in a previous life? Perhaps he was being _too_ cautious with Shizuka, not wanting to take any chances, but he was terrified of taking a chance and then messing it all up.

A splashing sound interrupted his ruminations and he stood up with a smile. Throwing on a robe over his comfortable shirt and pants, he leisurely made his way to the well just as Shizuka was pulling himself out of it. Just by the look on that young face, he knew that he was going to be asked a lot of questions. Ignoring the fear that squeezed at his heart if he answered wrong, he called to Moro to bring a towel.

"Dry yourself off good. You don't want to catch a cold," he told him, turning to go back to the shop and listening with amusement as Shizuka broke into a stumbling jog to keep up with him while firing questions at his back.

"Watanuki-san, who was that woman? And there were people that looked like guys with black wings on their back riding snowboards! What were they? Are you dating her? What was that place I was sent to?"

Watanuki couldn't help stopping in his tracks at one particular question. Unfettered surprise took over his features and he stared at Shizuka for the longest time that eventually the boy began to shift uncomfortably. Was he _dating_ her? Where on earth did that ridiculous idea come in? She was very nice, but there was never any hope of that…!

"She's a Zashiki Warashi and those guys you saw were her karasu tengu. She lives on the mountain since it's an extremely pure place. You went through the daffodil vase to get to there, since the mountain is connected through the daffodils." He paused and managed to put on a gentle smile, even though he was reeling with amused shock. "Why would you think we were dating?"

Shizuka flushed so adorably that all he wanted to do was kiss him deeply. "Well, you gave her such a pretty hairpin…"

"That's because it was her birthday today, Shizuka-kun, but I couldn't go there myself. Thank you for delivering the present for me."

The stiff posture of the high school boy relaxed and he wondered what Shizuka had been thinking about? Could, horrors of horrors, developed a crush on the Zashiki Warashi? It wasn't unknown. She _was_ pretty…

Trying to not let his thoughts show on his face, he entered the shop. "Why do you ask, Shizuka-kun? Were you thinking of asking for a date with her?"

"Of course not! I just…"

He listened as Shizuka trailed off and he glanced over his shoulder, seeing a flush of red on those cheeks again. Hope fought for dominance with the cautious skepticism in his heart and once again, he just wanted to kiss the boy and find out for certain what their relationship would end up as

"Come. Have a cup of hot tea before you go home."

But as usual, he didn't dare.

** End **


	5. Chapter 4

_"I want to meet this guy."_

This was what Shizuka had told him yesterday when he'd come into work. Apparently, Shizuka's best friend wanted to meet him and it was this that was keeping him sleepless at night. Shizuka had been working for him for nearly two weeks by this time and his life hadn't been this great in years…except for this.

In the end, he got no sleep that night and when he entered the park the next afternoon for the meeting with this Shino Haruki, his stomach was in knots again. What had Shizuka told about him? According to his employee, they'd known each other since elementary school and that filled him with fits of jealousy. He wanted to be the closest one to Shizuka. He wanted to be the one that knew everything about him.

Haruki was waiting for him…alone. This was not good. He at least thought that Shizuka would be there too. There was no buffer zone between the two of them. Without knowing what Shizuka had told him about himself, he could say something wrong and mess things up.

When _had_ he become so cautious that he didn't want to even risk one thing? He knew, by virtue of what he was, that sometimes the only way of getting what you wanted was to take risks. The bigger the risk, the higher the value of what you got, right? Usually, yes. But ever since he had gotten this rare chance to be with his love again, he didn't want to do anything to lose it, even though he knew the only way to really get what he wanted was to chance that he'd lose it all.

He knew this very well, but he was unable to take that leap.

"Shino-san," he greeted, sitting next to the boy on the bench that he had habitually sat on for eighteen years.

The boy was handsome, surprisingly so, and shockingly tall. Even taller than Shizuka, which mean he nearly towered over Watanuki himself. The black hair was spiky and unkempt, but the brown eyes were as lively as his smile.

"Watanuki-san, it's great to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh really?" he murmured, not daring to say that he had heard _nothing_ about Haruki. The fact that he didn't know anything about this boy didn't help his anxieties and insecurities. Was Shizuka hiding Haruki from him for some reason? If he had spent the time of the past two weeks talking about Watanuki, then why hadn't he even taken five minutes to tell him about Haruki?

"Yeah, lots." There was a glint in the boy's eyes, as if he knew something that Watanuki didn't, and his heart contracted tightly in his chest. Was there the possibility that Shizuka and Haruki were…? No, that couldn't be. He couldn't start being jealous of everyone Shizuka talked to, that was irrational. Not everyone was out to steal his Shizuka.

Right?

"He really respects you. Since I hear about you a lot, I wanted to finally meet you. You're as pretty as he said you were."

He found he could breathe again, ever so slightly. Shizuka had said he was pretty to someone else? So it wasn't just a compliment, Shizuka really thought that he was pretty! Well, that was something. He smiled as serenely as he could manage at Haruki, a potential rival, and hid his shaking hands in his pockets. After eighty-odd years, you had no choice in his business to hide emotions, but damn it, Shizuka was making it hard all over again.

"Look, Watanuki-san. Can I say something frankly?"

Watanuki stopped breathing again and he swore his heart stopped beating. Paranoia surged in him again and his hands clenched into fists in the pockets of his jacket. His palms grew sweaty and it took every inch of willpower he had to maintain the peaceful expression on his face.

"Of course. I'm not preventing you from speaking normally, am I?"

But Watanuki's light tone didn't seem to affect Haruki. In fact, the boy frowned, even, as if he didn't appreciate the sentiment of keeping the mood simple. This did nothing to ease Watanuki's feelings of fear.

"Shizuka is…Look, his parents smother him with responsibility and rules and never listen to a word he says. When he took a part time job at your store, we were all kinda shocked about it because his parents hadn't let him have one before. They're insistent that he goes to Tokyo U. They're insistent he becomes a doctor or lawyer. They want the best grades. They don't listen to his opinions or what he says, so he doesn't even bother trying anymore. He rarely says what he _really_ wants because he thinks no one will listen. But then you came along and managed to convince his parents to let him have a part time job…in essence, you gave him some freedom. So I'm hoping you can give him more than just that in the future."

For a moment, Watanuki couldn't say anything. He'd learned to read people really well over the years and all he could see was concern for a friend in Haruki's appearance and words. There did seem to be a little more desperation than that hidden somewhere, perhaps related to that hidden knowledge of _something_ that he had.

"Shino-san, I have no intention of taking away what he has, nor am I trying to give him anything, necessarily. I'm just trying to open paths for him to take if he chooses. I'm trying to give him _options_, not gifts. Isn't that what freedom is? Choice?"

This wasn't what Haruki wanted to hear, apparently, but it did seem to put the boy's mind at ease, since he relaxed and smiled a little. "Guess you're right. Anyway, I'll tell Shizuka that you've got my thumbs up on this whole thing. So don't worry."

Watanuki watched in surprise as Haruki winked at him, as if they had a secret, and stood up, wandering away down the street without so much as a backward glance. The whole meeting was no weirder than his job usually demanded, but still…that was a strange boy. He had no doubt he was human, but there was obviously something Watanuki was _missing_ about this whole conversation, because he just didn't get it.

Oh well, time to go back to work.

****

"I honestly think that things are going to be fine, Shizuka."

Haruki watched as Shizuka paced a little before sitting down, then getting up again and then pacing. He had managed to convince his friend not to come to the meeting with him and the shop owner, because he had wanted to be free to say whatever he wanted and to hear a response not dictated by the presence of the one talked about. He didn't tell Shizuka what they had talked about, since that wasn't necessary, but he hoped his friend would stop wearing grooves in his floor with all his pacing.

Shizuka couldn't keep _any_ secret from Haruki and they both knew it. It was only three days into this part time job before he'd blurted out the whole supernatural aspect of it. And Haruki believed him. Shizuka had never once lied to him so he had no reason to think his friend was crazy.

But what interested Haruki more was the fact that after two years of secretly loving Watanuki and only talking for an hour each day, Shizuka could actually work with the man he loved. He completely blamed his three older sisters for turning him into a closet romantic. They'd shoved enough romance books at him when he was younger, some had even been yaoi, that he had learned to be interested in romance. So while he wasn't interest in men's love, he had no problem if Shizuka was gay.

"I think he's perhaps the most gorgeous man on this planet, Shizuka, but he doesn't seem to get out a lot, so I don't think you have any other rivals."

"Any other _human_ rivals, Haruki. There could be hundreds of spirits that are my rivals for Watanuki-san's attention!"

Haruki sighed. Shizuka wasn't an overly expressive guy, but nor was he expressionless either. Sort of middle of the road. But he'd never seen Shizuka like this once. This Watanuki had the ability to just turn Shizuka into a fretting mess of a person. Interesting.

"You wanted me to approve of Watanuki-san, didn't you? And I do, and not just because you're my friend. Honestly, you're like a worried housewife that her husband is cheating on her!"

"Who's a housewife?!"

At the irritated retort, Haruki laughed. Well, he couldn't be all that worried if that little jibe penetrated his defenses. "Seriously though, if you don't stop pacing, you'll wear a hole in my floor. Let's just get through this test material for school tomorrow and as usual, I'll keep Kagami from asking to go home with you so she won't see the shop. Or that she can't see the shop, as the case may be." He paused. "I wonder if I'd be able to see it."

"Please don't find out."

He raised an eyebrow as his friend finally sat down. Now wasn't that interesting? Shizuka was becoming _possessive_. In the entire time he'd know Shizuka, he'd never been possessive of anything to this degree that he didn't even want to share Watanuki with anyone, even with someone who would in no way become a rival.

"Are you _jealous_, Shizuka?"

"Of course not!"

But the red on his friend's ears told otherwise…

** End **


	6. Chapter 5

There was never a boring day when working for Watanuki. Shizuka, often accompanied by Soel on his shoulder, would never forget meeting the Ame Warashi. She hit him with her umbrella once and had a proud character that no matter if she was wrong, she would never admit it.

The only thing that bothered him was how some of the spirits reacted to him. The Ame Warashi, those karasu tengu, the Zashiki Warashi, the Oden foxes…they all looked at him strangely at first and always acted as if they have met before. But when he had asked his employer about it one time, the strangest look had come over that face. It had seemed a mix between pain and awkwardness.

Not to mention the dreams he was having at night these days. At first, he couldn't remember the dream, only waking up with a feeling of dread and sadness. For the first few nights, that was all it was and he had slowly gotten used to it, dismissing it as inconsequential, until the dream began to have more to it. Then he could remember details, like the feeling of something stick all over him, which he began to realize was blood.

Last night, he had seen what could be almost half or maybe even the entire dream. He was lying in someone's arms, covered in blood. Everything was black and white except for the red of the blood, the color so vibrant, as if it was over exposed. The face of the person was unclear, shadowed by darkness, but somehow the tears on the person's face were shining like diamonds.

That was all he knew. Was that the entire dream? He didn't know. Nor did he understand the significance of it. For the past two and a half weeks, he'd gotten a little bit by little bit, like putting together a puzzle, until he finally got the full image. But he still didn't know what it all meant. He was sure it had something to do with the supernatural since it didn't start until after he'd started his part time job, but he hesitated to speak to Watanuki about it. On some questions, Watanuki would get the most pained look on his face that it hurt his heart to even see it like that and all he wanted to do was hold that cowering body in his arms.

It was as he was sitting in Watanuki's study, watching the man write something, when he asked the question that had been bugging him with increasing regularity. Watanuki had said that he could ask whatever he liked, so he took a deep breath and said, "Watanuki-san, you said that in the park, the person you loved died. What happened?"

Even the air seemed to still at the question and the scratching of the pen stopped. The bickering between Soel and Larg was silent. Maru and Moro ceased their random dancing. It was as if the world had stopped moving, as if he had asked a taboo question. Slowly, very slowly that it was killing Shizuka, Watanuki lifted his head and stared at him. The eyes behind the glasses were both expressionless and full of pain, somehow.

"I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me to ask! Please forget it," he muttered hastily.

"Don't worry about it. It's no secret," came the pained whisper. The man put down his pen and the girls, as if automatically knowing what he wanted, picked up the Mokonas and sped out of the room, closing the door behind them.

He'd never been so nervous in his life. The only way he could envision being more nervous than this would be if he made Watanuki angry. He chewed lightly on his tongue, fidgeting in place, while Watanuki took a deep breath and seemed to gather his thoughts.

"I'm older than you have probably guessed me to be, Shizuka-kun, so this story is an old one. Do you still want to hear it?"

_If it'll tell me the reason why you look so sad and pained when you think I'm not looking, then I'd stay here a hundred years if it would make you tell me,_ he thought with the frantic beats of his heart. "Yes." _Oh god, yes, tell me, so that I can help you! So that I know what I'm up against and I can finally take the place of that lover_.

"When I was in high school, I worked for my predecessor. Her name was Ichihara Yuuko. I had the ability to see spirits and I didn't want it, so if I worked for her, she said she would get rid of it." A bitter laugh sounded and it tore at Shizuka's heart like ravenous wolves. "As you can see, things didn't work out like that. Anyway, during this time, I had a…friend that was always there and helping me when Yuuko-san would ask me to do supernatural things. I'd always denied we were friends, but…in my heart I knew we were even more than that and I didn't want to admit it. One day, things went horribly wrong in the park. It was when I was holding my friend that I realized that we were more than the friends I fervently denied, but I never got a chance to say it."

Shizuka desperately reached out to grab that shaking hand and hold it with his, watching with concern as those sapphire eyes were suddenly overly bright with unshed tears. He hadn't expected this to be as painful for himself as it was for Watanuki. Just seeing Watanuki upset was enough to make him want to cry or hurt something.

"When my friend told me those words…'I love you', I guess it almost broke me. I never got the chance to say what I felt back. I can still remember seeing the blood. I tried not to cry, so that he wouldn't worry about me when he died, but I couldn't stop it. I kept crying and crying and crying."

Those tears were as beautiful as the diamond tears from his dream and he reached up with his free hand to wipe them away from those flawless cheeks. Watanuki didn't seem to even register it. "I'd stayed there in the park forever…the police even thought I was a suspect once and arrested me when they found me there with his…lifeless body. Yuuko-san was the only one that…saved me. She got me free of any legal problems and we sat down and discussed it…I agreed I'd take over the shop for her one day and that's what I've been doing since."

Watanuki sniffed and dragged a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his glasses, now spotted with tears. The beauty he saw before him entranced Shizuka. Those black, long eyelashes wet and sparkling in the light of the room, like tiny jewels amid the strands. The perfect alabaster color of skin dotted now with the rosy color on his cheeks from his crying called to him to caress it and make it heat with something other than sorrow and far more carnal. Fragile shaking making him seem so vulnerable and in need of protection, so easy to bury him in a strong embrace…

"Shizuka-kun?"

His name from those perfect lips broke him from his preoccupation and he realized with a start that he'd been staring at Watanuki for at least two minutes in silence. Flushing a little, his own cheeks slowly turning a faint pink color, he shifted to move behind the desk next to Watanuki. Taking those cheeks between his hands, he asked, his voice hoarse with suppressing his feelings, "Can't I replace him?"

"Shizuka-kun?!"

Before Watanuki could say anything more, he'd pulled the wish granter into a deep and powerful kiss that left himself weak in the knees. Watanuki must have loved his friend very much to have such grief and such feeling after so many years. And he found himself insanely jealous of that friend that had stolen Watanuki's heart even after death. Could he possibly manage to steal it back?

It was almost a minute into the kiss that Shizuka's conscious mind realized just what he was doing. He was kissing Watanuki! He had forced a kiss on the man he had fallen desperately in love with after having coerced said man into revealing the painful love story of his past.

He was the lower than the lowest creature on this planet!

He was slime, he knew that. And even though he pulled away almost frantically, blushing to the roots of his hair, he knew that nothing he could say could make this better. If he was _really_ lucky, then he would still have a part time job tomorrow.

"I'm so sorry, Watanuki-san! I just…you were so…I'm so, so sorry!" He couldn't even bear to look at that lovely, perfect face and kept his eyes downcast at the floor. When there was no sound issuing, no answer, he dared to look up. The powerful sorcerer looked even more fragile and vulnerable now, with one hand clamped over his mouth as if he couldn't believe it.

Shizuka's heart shattered and he broke into a run from the shop as fast as his legs could go.

****

Haruki grumbled in annoyance as the sound of banging against his apartment door woke him from a very sound and nice sleep. Stumbling out of bed, he flicked on the lights and peered through the peephole in his front door to see who it was. When the slumped figure made itself clear who it was, Haruki hurriedly unlocked and frantically pulled the door open.

"My god, Shizuka, what happened! You look terrible! It's pouring outside and you look like the dead!"

There was no answer from his friend, only a wail of despair before those strong arms latched around the basketball player's chest. Never once in his life had Haruki ever seen Shizuka cry and he felt terribly at sea. Men didn't usually cry, at least not in the basketball club, and he was getting soaked with rainwater. Awkwardly, he patted that shaking shoulder and did his best to close the door without hitting Shizuka.

"Look, I don't know what happened, but you have _got_ to get warm!"

It took all his strength to drag Shizuka to the bathroom and make him wash himself, and at least an hour after that to get Shizuka to calm down enough to tell him just what had sent the man into such a tizzy in the first place. Whatever it was, it had to be related to Watanuki, since no one else ever got under Shizuka's skin like this, so that he was curled in a fetal position, sobbing, in the middle of Haruki's bed.

He sighed in confusion and sat down on the floor near the edge of the bed and gently shook the nearest shoulder. "Hey, man," he said softly, trying his damndest to be comforting, "you wanna tell me what's so horrible you had to come running over in the pouring rain to see me about? Hell, you look like you're ready to commit suicide if I let you near any sharp objects!"

"It's all my fault, Haruki. I k-kissed Watanuki-san!"

"And what's so bad about that? Isn't that to be celebrated? I mean, you've loved the guy for two years now."

"You don't understand," hissed Shizuka desperately, sitting up and latching his hands on Haruki's shoulder with a viselike grip. The green-gold eyes of his friend were wild with fear, pain, and self-revulsion. "I asked him why he was always so sad, what happened to the person he loved. He got upset, he must have loved him very much, and I took advantage of that to kiss him! He was so beautiful, I couldn't help it! But now he must hate me! He…he…I'll be very lucky if he doesn't fire me…!"

Amid the frantically strewn words, Haruki finally managed to get the idea of what had happened and he frowned. His first inclination was to damn Watanuki for bring Shizuka into this state, but logic told him that maybe Shizuka had overblown this whole situation. As he had observed for the past two and a half weeks, Shizuka was completely without defenses when it came to Watanuki. And really, when they had talked, he hadn't thought Watanuki would be like that, to condemn Shizuka just for a "mistake" like that.

No words were going to get through Shizuka's current mental state, so Haruki was left with awkwardly comforting his friend until he fell asleep, still in that fetal position, on the bed.

"Guess I won't be sleeping tonight…great."

Best thing to do was call Shizuka's parents that he was staying over at his house for the night…Oh wasn't _that_ going to be fun, he thought sarcastically.

Why oh why did he always get dragged into stuff like this?

** End **


	7. Chapter 6

Watanuki had tried, really tried, to say something after Shizuka had kissed him. In fact, he had been berating himself every second of silence to open his mouth. But the only thing he had managed to do was lift his hand touch his own lips, to remember the feel of that kiss and how it had completely overpowered him.

He was as helpless against Shizuka now as he was then. Just that single kiss made him shake with need, want to bury his hands in that short black hair and revel in the fact that he was actually being _kissed_ by his love.

But hitsuzen was a terrible thing. Even being as powerful as he was, he was still subject to its laws and whims. It was fate that there had to be a risk in this relationship if he wanted to grasp it as love, but since he had waited and not taken that risk, the choice had been yanked from his hands.

There was nothing in his mind except that kiss. Even when the Ame Warashi came to visit, he had spaced out so much that she'd hit him on the head twice with her umbrella to get his attention. All through the next day when he knew Shizuka was at school, he could get no work done. He couldn't wait until Shizuka would come to the shop that afternoon. He had to clear this up as soon as possible, to let him know that he had had the epitome of happiness during that kiss.

He had to let him know that he had been saving his virginity only for Shizuka. Had to let him know just how much he loved him.

But that day, Shizuka never showed up. The disappointment he felt was like a crushing weight, but his logic told him that it was reasonable for him not to show up, if he thought he was in the wrong for the kiss. And so he spent another sleepless night and another spaced out day for those footsteps on in the yard. He'd even gone to wait outside, since he could get no work done.

He never came.

On the third day, Watanuki began to get worried and at five o'clock, he went to the park, like hadn't been doing the past few weeks now that Shizuka had started working for him, but even then, he did not see a single glance of him. Maru and Moro were growing increasingly upset, he knew, since he wouldn't eat and barely drank anything. The shop was becoming increasingly messier, as he would drop things and forget to pick them up again.

When the fifth day came, he finally picked up the phone to call Shizuka's home. The stern voice that answered could only be that of his father and his heart started to hammer in his chest like an anvil. Would this mean that maybe he could talk to Shizuka? To explain? Even if not to explain, to just ask him to meet him? Anywhere?

"May I speak with Shizuka-kun, Doumeki-san?"

"I'm afraid not, he's studying."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Doumeki-san, but this Watanuki Kimihiro. Shizuka-kun works for me and he hasn't shown up for five days now. I've been worried about him."

"Shizuka has no time for part-time jobs now with midterms coming up."

Watanuki could barely hear the beeping of the disconnected line in his ear over the shattering of his own heart. Did this mean that he'd never see Shizuka again? No, this couldn't be…Not when he had thought he'd finally grasped the happiness that had been stolen from him so long ago. No, this couldn't be happening!

The phone dropped from his listless fingers to the floor and he trembled as he slowly sat on the edge of his bed. This time there was no one to bring him back from the brink and he only slumped to lay on the bed in a fetal position, the tears coming fresh now to his eyes. This was why he hadn't taken the risk. Even if they would have never had a love relationship, he had been content to even be beside him, but now even that was taken away.

"Master, Master, you have to eat!" Moro pleaded an hour later when Watanuki hadn't moved.

"You have to eat!" Maru chimed in.

Their worry was palatable. Soel and Larg didn't once leave his bedside, always trying to cajole him to eat or drink something, but nothing seemed to penetrate the daze. Even when a visitor came to the shop, there was no rousing Watanuki.

After a day of worry when nothing could help, knowing that Watanuki hadn't eaten anything for five days, the four helpers in the shop knew it was time that they brought in some help to get them the only cure for Watanuki's condition:

Doumeki Shizuka.

****

The banging on the front door drew Shizuka's listless eyes from his textbook. Today was a rare day that both his parents were home, but the entire house was lifeless, unlike at the shop. He could only see everything in drab, cold colors, nothing like the warm and lively colors of the shop. Or the wonderful blue of those soft eyes as they touched his own.

But he couldn't bear to even go to the shop. Watanuki surely hated him. He hadn't even called to check up on him. He probably hadn't even wanted to wait for him at the shop and was out granting wishes. He was a very powerful person. What would he want with just a mere student like himself?

"Open the damn door already!" came a loud and strident voice, causing his father to pick up his steps toward the front door.

That voice was familiar…oh no, it _wasn't_.

"It is about time, you slowpokes!" the Ame Warashi hissed, complete with flounced black dress, blue hair, and umbrella. Her faintly purple-bluish eyes were crackling with fury and using her umbrella, she pushed her way into the house and straight to the table he was sitting at with his books.

"_You_! What is wrong you with you?! You think, after what you did, you can just disappear from his life just like that?!"

His parents were disgruntled, irritated, and upset and he really didn't want them to know that their son had fallen in love and kissed another man, much less that man being older than him and his employer. He tried to hiss at her to be quiet, but that only seemed to make her angrier because she hit him over the head with her umbrella yet again.

That seemed to be her favorite past time.

Needless to say that made his mother rush to check for injures and his father expound about a lawsuit for battery, but the Ame Warashi paid absolutely no attention to either. Her eyes bored into his and he realized then that while he had met many spirits and while she seemed aloof and condescending to everyone, she was perhaps the most overprotective of Watanuki.

"You…! Do you know what's been happening with him since you left?! He hasn't eaten for five days! He hasn't drunk anything for five days! He hasn't even moved from his bed for the last day and a half, ever since he called your house!"

"He _called_?" Shizuka interrupted, standing up in surprise.

"Stupid!" she called, hitting him over the head yet again. Yes, she was really mad right then. "Doesn't matter! You should have gone to see him before had _had_ to call you! Do you know how long he's been waiting for you to come see him! Honestly, you moron! You never even stayed to find out his feelings!"

"What the hell is going on here?!" his father roared, but it barely penetrated into Shizuka's mind. His whole concentration was the Ame Warashi and that was exactly where she liked it too.

"How rude you children are! You just kiss someone and then run out?! Honestly!"

"_KISS?!_"

But the Ame Warashi was already pulling him out the door, ignoring his father's protests and demands. He knew he was going to have to do something about this eventually, but the fact that Watanuki hadn't eaten for five days was of a more pressing concern.

By the time he had reached the street, he was running at full speed. Somehow, the Ame Warashi managed to still beat him to the gate even though she had only been walking, but he gave it little thought.

"Watanuki-san!" he frantically called and barely remembered to take off his shoes in the entryway. Maru and Moro dashed at him, pulling him straight to the only room he'd never been in yet: Watanuki's bedroom.

The Ame Warashi stopped on the threshold into the room and beckoned for the girls and Mokona to leave them alone. Her eyes were still cool and aloof as she watched the two men, but there still a softness about her gaze that said how fond she was of the wish granter.

"Watanuki-san?" Shizuka murmured, shaking a shoulder gently. "Watanuki-san, it's me, Shizuka. Please say you're okay. They said you haven't eaten in five days! Please tell me that's not true!"

"Shizuka-kun?"

The voice that he loved so much was raspy and those blue eyes were ringed with red from crying. What had he done? This was all his fault…was there any way to make it up to this wonderful man? He gently knelt on the floor beside the bed so that their heads were equal.

"I'm so sorry, Watanuki-san. I seem to be making one mistake after another. I couldn't help kissing you because I've been in love with you for two years. And then I left and I thought you hated me, so I couldn't come back. I thought I was thinking of your feelings when I didn't, but now I know that I was doing the exact opposite."

"Shizuka-kun…"

Then that sensation of kissing Watanuki was there again against his mouth when the sorcerer had taken the initiative this time. Gently, he weaved his tongue into that inviting mouth and a small whimper of delight escaped from Watanuki, the sound reverberating against his lips wonderfully. Arms latched around that slim back, dragging him close to deepen the kiss that he'd been dying to do for years.

It was only the sound of Watanuki's rumbling stomach that broke them apart. The laughter that spilled from those sweet, intoxicating lips was even more beautiful than his chuckles, and absentmindedly, Shizuka wiped away stray tears from those soft cheeks.

"I think it's time you got something to eat," he teased.

Yes, something for Watanuki to eat…when he could let him go.

** End **


	8. Chapter 7

"Aaah! _Shizuka…!_"

"God…Kimihiro!"

_**Twenty four hours earlier**_

"You've been taking care of yourself better when I'm not here right?"

Watanuki looked up from the papers he was reading, and smiled at Shizuka. The high school boy was fretting like a newlywed husband with a pregnant wife. It had been seven days since Shizuka had rushed to his side and brought him back from the brink and Shizuka had stuffed enough food down his throat to feed an army. In fact, the thought of food right now was enough to make him want to vomit.

"You should know that better than anyone, Shizuka-kun. You've been here the moment school ends to almost midnight every night."

It was so endearing, watching Shizuka fret over him. Unfortunately, he also heard, when Shizuka wasn't busy worrying over him, the problems at his home. Apparently, his parents, having been told what happened, objected violently and wanted him to quit immediately. Naturally, Shizuka had refused and they always seemed to be having a fight whenever the boy went home.

While Watanuki knew that eventually he was going to have to confront the problems of this relationship, such as Shizuka's parents, he just couldn't get upset or worried about them. The newfound beauty and rose-colored days that he was in cocooned him from the harsh realities of the outside world.

Shizuka leaned down to kiss him and their tongues twined intimately, but as usual, the high school student pulled away after a moment and went home. The sorcerer pouted and stood up, lost in his thoughts as Maru and Moro helped him change into his pajamas for bed. It was not that he wanted to rush things, but he really wanted to "unite" with Shizuka before anything else happened and tore them apart. With Shizuka back, he didn't want to spend another eighty to two hundred years a virgin.

But getting some sleep that night was not to be. The moment he was about to climb into bed, there was a banging on the front door, to reveal the Ame Warashi, who looked to be exhausted. Hurriedly changing once again, he and the spirit rushed to the Zashiki Warashi's mountain, to find that the pureness that she relied on so much was becoming contaminated. Setting up wards didn't take much magic, but when he got back to his shop an hour later, there was still someone waiting for him.

After that, it seemed a steady stream of customers and he found that by the time morning broke, he was rubbing red and gritty eyes. But sleep was still not on the agenda, since had an appointment with the foxes of the Oden cart, then after that, the water sprites at the river, which couldn't come to his shop, had to see him. He had started to keep an appointment book, even. He hadn't realized just how busy a wish granter's life could be. Yuuko had never seemed to do anything all day but lounge, but he only usually saw her during the latter half of the day. Had she done all sorts of this stuff during the day when he was at school?

If he thought this day would get easier the more the hours passed by, he was sorely mistaken. On his walk back from the river, where he had almost gotten drenched (thank god for that spell Yuuko had taught him to prevent getting wet from water when you were doing business) he had literally bumped into Haruki and a young girl beside him. He was still hoping that one day he'd learn to anticipate things and just _know_ them the way that Yuuko had, but that probably wouldn't happen for a while yet. She _had_ said she'd been at least three hundred before she'd learned that trick.

How old had Yuuko been, really?

"Ah, Watanuki-san, it's nice to see you again."

"Hello, Shino-kun," he replied, trying to not look as tired as he was. It didn't seem to fool the tall boy, but then he suspected that not much did. For someone that had no special gifts, nothing escaped that sharp attention.

"So you're Watanuki-san? What luck!"

He raised his eyebrows in question to the girl who had spoken and Haruki looked distinctly awkward suddenly. Was this someone he wasn't supposed to meet? "Yes, I'm Watanuki Kimihiro. Who might you be?"

"Ahh! I'm surprised Shizuka didn't tell you! I'm Hisano Kagami, Shizuka's girlfriend."

His girlfriend.

Watanuki's reality suddenly stopped revolving. The beating of his heart ceased and his lungs refused to take in air. Dizziness overcame him and the whole world became somewhat blurry. His knees were overtaken by a surge of weakness and the sense of vertigo was overwhelming.

"Oi, hey, you all right?!"

His moment of insensibility, which could have only lasted a few seconds, passed and he realized that he would have slumped to the ground if Haruki's arm around his waist hadn't caught him. "I didn't get any sleep last night," he explained, trying very hard to pass that off as the reason for his almost-faint and put on a weak smile. Haruki didn't seem to buy it.

His girlfriend. Shizuka's girlfriend.

"Hey, now, Kagami! You know that Shizuka turned you down last year!"

Watanuki had never heard Haruki sound irritated before. Even when he regained the strength in his legs, the arm around his waist didn't move, as if either waiting for it to happen again or as if it was so natural to do so that it didn't even notice it.

"Come on, Haruki!" the girl, Kagami, retorted with confidence, waving her hand in the air as if to dismiss her friend's objection. "Shizuka's never looked twice at anyone in his whole life. It's only a matter of time before he realizes his feelings for me."

This whole conversation was making him sick to his stomach. Maybe he really should go home and go to sleep, regardless of those he still had left to meet. Haruki kept glancing at him and a sudden surge of warmth for the boy filled him. He was a good kid, since he was obviously worried about him.

"You okay, Watanuki-san? You look awfully pale."

"Yeah, you do," Kagami seconded, drawn out of her own confident world to notice the shopkeeper.

"I'll be fine," Watanuki told them with a reassuring smile, even as his insides were turning inside and out and he wanted to vomit and cry at the same time. "I have to get going now, I'll be meeting a…client soon."

He gently pushed his way past the two high schoolers and it was only because he'd done it so many times that his feet managed to get him back to the shop. Maru and Moro hovered around him as he entered, seeing his pale and ragged appearance.

"Watanuki! Watanuki! There's a message for you!"

Soel bounced on the table next to the phone and he lifted the piece of paper up disinterestedly. Seeing what it said, he was not at all surprised. It would just be the finishing on the cake after this day. Apparently, according to the wind spirit he'd helped several years ago (who he'd asked to spy on Shizuka's family for him in payment), the parents had begun to seriously discuss visiting the shop.

This was a problem. If they didn't see the shop, it did little to help the credibility and image he had to cultivate to impress and force on the couple. He wanted to stand in the middle of the courtyard and talk to them from his own domain, but they had to see the shop.

There was at least two hours before the parents would show up, and Shizuka would be here any minute. Damn.

"Maru, grab me that book of Yuuko's that she left. Moro, when Shizuka comes, occupy him. I'm not to be disturbed, since I'll be doing some heavy magic. Soel, I'll need you and Larg for this project."

"Are you sure, Master?" the two girls chimed worriedly.

"You don't look good," Moro added.

"You look sick," Maru said at almost the exact same time.

He smiled at them as best as he could. Things were all coming to a head now, which he wasn't surprised about. Hitsuzen was a nasty thing when you wouldn't give in to it. He had fought hitsuzen by refusing to take the leap with Shizuka a whole lot earlier and now it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

Just in case, he locked the workroom door that he'd never been in or known about until Yuuko had taken him to be her successor. No one but the Dimensional Witch (or now, anyway, the Dimensional Sorcerer), could enter this room. Even now, sometimes he just liked to go and sit in there, because he could still feel the overwhelming pulse of magic left behind by Yuuko. It was the only place in the whole shop that still reeked of her and who she was so strongly it was like she had only left a few hours ago, even after all this time.

He knew instantly when Shizuka entered, his senses three times as susceptible to every change in the whole store. This was a temporary spell that would only last for three hours, max, but it would make the shop visible to all. It would have been easier to just temporarily put the store in the "reality" around them, but that would end up killing Maru and Moro. With no souls, their bodies couldn't take the pressure from the real world and there was no other place to put them for that time being, so it was down to putting in more effort for another solution.

Watanuki left the workroom an hour and a half later, spent of magic and hoping that he didn't look as exhausted as he felt. Maru and Moro knew exactly what to do and amid Shizuka's words and worry, they rushed to pull out his most impressive outfit that he only wore on very special occasions. It was a version of Yuuko's, what he called ceremonial garb. Black pants and shirt, a decorated belt, and a coat of dark sapphire silk, tied with ceremonial ropes. Moro rushed a brush to him as time began to run out and he did his best for a respectable and impressive braid of his waist-length hair.

Stepping out of the shop to stand in the middle of the courtyard, Shizuka followed uncertainly. It was no surprise, since Watanuki had yet to say one word to him. The spell he'd cast that would make a second layer on the store to make it visible for a short time to the "real" world, settled in place with something that resembled a "sigh".

There was the screeching of a car and the slam of doors and then suddenly, right between the gateposts, stood the two parents of his lover. They were dressed to kill as well and looked quite well and refreshed. Damn, whatever way he looked, he felt dead.

"Listen here, Watanuki Kimihiro," snapped the tall figure of Shizuka's father. "I'm going to sue you for seduction of a minor! And so help me, if you laid one finger on my son, I'll also bring a charge of rape! He's only seventeen!"

"How could you, pervert! Lecher!" added his mother. "He's just a young boy! You can't find anyone your own age, so you find a helpless boy who only wanted to work part-time?!"

Watanuki took a deep breath, closing his eyes to compose his thoughts, and clenched his fists inside his cloak where they couldn't see. "First of all, Shizuka-kun is eighteen. I find it sad that even his own parents don't know that. Secondly, I have not touched your son in an indiscreet manner, nor did I set out to seduce him. Thirdly, since Shizuka-kun is eighteen, even if there were such sexual matters that you imply happened, it would be consensual and well within the law."

"Damn it, do you have no shame, man?!" that booming voice of Shizuka's father lanced across the silence, ignoring Watanuki's logic. "First you latch your attentions on men, _then_ you look at young boys, and to top it off, you choose _my_ son!"

"It seems you can't accept the fact that your son is gay. This isn't about me and we all know it. This is about your son. Just because he prefers males to females doesn't mean that he has changed from the son you know. His intelligence is just as sharp as ever. His morals haven't changed. His plans, whatever they might be, are still able to come true. Perhaps if you'd listened to what your son has had to say over the years, you wouldn't be so shocked right now. You put him on a pedestal for your own enjoyment!"

Controlling his anger was getting harder, but Watanuki swallowed it down thickly. Now, to get rid of these damn parents. They would listen to no more reason, he knew, and he refused to yell his voice hoarse in a fight that they wouldn't accept even though everyone knew he was as right.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I have business to do. Leave."

Watanuki turned from the parents and walked back into the shop, past a very shocked and silent Shizuka. If he hadn't angered hitsuzen too much, with any luck the parents would just go. The spell was going to wear off soon as well. Larg was already waiting by the front door to lock it behind them for no more customers that day.

Footsteps came rushing up to him as nearly collapsed in the hall, but he knew they were only Shizuka's. Maru and Moro were there to take his cloak and help him slowly divest himself of the extra bangles and things while he leaned against the wall, too tired to even think about changing fully.

"Watanuki-san! What did you do?! How did you even know they were going to be here today?! I didn't hear anything about this, I swear! They said some horrible things to you…!"

He reached up with a soft smile and caressed that lovely cheek. "Don't worry about, Shizuka-kun. I gave them something to think about, hopefully, and they won't bring it up again for a while, if you're lucky."

Now that the most pressing matter was out of the way, like a tongue probing a sore tooth, his mind wandered to the girl he'd met on the street with Haruki. Hisano Kagami. Uncertainties filled him, wondering just how true Shizuka's feelings were. He hadn't once tried to touch him in the past seven days and it began to bother him. Was he not attractive enough?

"Shizuka-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"I met someone today when I was out earlier doing business. A Hisano Kagami." Shizuka groaned and the sound made Watanuki look up, trying not to be hopeful. "She said she was your girlfriend."

Those strong hands latched onto his shoulders. "She's not, I swear! I turned her down last year firmly and every time she's ever asked. I've never thought about her in that way. Believe me."

The conviction in those eyes reassured the sorcerer and he smiled. "I believe you. I always will."

Then he was assaulted with those lips and he found himself pressed up hard against the wall. With what little thought he had left of sweet consciousness he hoped Maru and Moro wouldn't show up right then, otherwise he'd die of embarrassment.

"Watanuki-san, you were so beautiful in those clothes," Shizuka panted before claiming his mouth for another hot, wet kiss.

"It's Kimihiro," he muttered through gritted teeth when those lips finally moved down to nip at the skin of his neck. Hands latched onto his thighs and lifted him up, guiding his legs to wrap around his soon-to-be lover's waist. With a gasp, Watanuki's arms gripped those broad shoulders as he was carried into his bedroom, the door being slammed shut by a foot.

After over eighty-five years of celibacy, Watanuki found himself prostrate underneath Shizuka and panting desperately. Shizuka's hands were like lightning on his shirt and in seconds, his top was bare and those lips were assaulting his nipples with a fervor that made him cry out. His hips automatically jerked up and it was then that he realized that Shizuka was just as aroused as him, perhaps even more so.

"Kimihiro," whispered a hot breath in his ear as his pants were loosened and pulled down to his knees. Somehow, Shizuka's jacket had disappeared and his shirt was open and flapping loose around his chest.

God, he hoped this wasn't a dream because it would kill him.

The only thing he could concentrate on was the kisses that were traveling down his body and he belatedly realized where Shizuka intended to go. "Idiot, not there!" he snapped, but not fast enough. Heat and wetness enclosed him and he cried out, feeling Shizuka's tongue working hard to massage his hardness. It took every inch of willpower not to scream.

"Shi…zuka!"

Shizuka's hands were holding his hips tightly, his mouth eliciting feelings that Watanuki had never dreamed could exist. Somehow, during all this, his pants had been fully pulled off until he was naked and writhing on the sheets.

"I can't take it…Shizuka!"

The heat that surrounded him disappeared and he looked with eyes hazy with pleasure at Shizuka, who was sitting up. "Lotion?"

His hand frantically reached over to the nightstand next to the bed, awkwardly opening the small drawer and dragging out a bottle of lotion. Shizuka's eyebrow lifted and for a second, the Shizuka of so long superimposed itself over the one currently above him. Yes, he had been prepared for this day for years.

But Shizuka didn't say anything and merely covered his fingers with the soft gel. Watanuki's hands gripped the sheets tightly, letting out a cry he tried to muffle, when fingers slid into him and gently began to worm around. As much as he knew what would happen and was prepared for it, the pain was still unexpectedly sharp and he gasped.

"Are you all right, Kimihiro?" The plain worry on Shizuka's face as he leaned over the sorcerer made him smile a little. The Doumeki Shizuka when he was sixteen years old was gone, but this new Shizuka was still very much like the old one…just a bit more expressive.

"Yes, I'm—-right there!" Watanuki couldn't muffle the moans of pleasure he felt when Shizuka had found just the right spot. The ecstasy easily overrode the pain, even when Shizuka added a third finger. He'd never been so hard in his life and it looked as if his little mews and pleas of more were getting to Shizuka.

"I can't hold back anymore, Kimihiro. Please…"

"Come," Watanuki gasped, the only word he could think of to get out. His throat closed after that, letting nothing out but unidentifiable gasps, grunts and moans. His voice box officially seemed to give out then.

If Shizuka's fingers had been a shock, it was nothing compared to the hardened length of his lover sliding inside him. A scream of both pleasure and pain echoed in the bedroom and Shizuka lifted his legs to rest on his arms. Every inch that Shizuka gently, lovingly, pushed inside him made him quake until finally the tip brushed that sensitive spot.

"Shi…zu…ka!" he cried, hands going to grab those shoulders, pulling his lover down near him so he could kiss him, tongue sliding out to plunder that eager, young mouth.

"I'm all the way in, Kimihiro," came that gasping whisper in his ear a moment later. "It's so hot…it feels so good…"

"Shut up," Watanuki muttered, cheeks suddenly flaring with red. He may have been waiting years for Shizuka, but he hadn't thought he'd say such cheesy things, even if he didn't particularly _mind_ them in any way.

"I'm going to move now, all right?"

By the awkwardness of it all in the beginning, Watanuki knew that he was Shizuka's first lover and that made all the waiting better. They may both be novices, but the love that permeated the room, that had created the past seven days in rose-colored happiness, more than made up for it.

The slow pulling out and pushing in, rocking him into the oblivion of pleasure, was something that no one could have ever explained to him. No words could describe the feeling of wonder you had when you finally joined with the person you loved and had been waiting for, for so long.

Watanuki almost didn't recognize himself as he listened to the begging words of "more", "deeper", "harder", falling from his mouth in a random litany. And just when he thought it couldn't get any better, he felt a hand enclose his arousal.

"Stop, Shi…zuka. Not…there…too!"

But the pumping on his desire didn't cease and Watanuki was left helpless to the pleasure that assaulted him on two fronts. His nails dug into the thick muscles of Shizuka's shoulders, even dragging them over that lovely skin and leaving red marks behind. Harder and harder, in response to his insensible pleas, Shizuka pounded into him until he could feel the bed rocking ever so slightly beneath him.

"Aaah! _Shizuka…!_"

"God…Kimihiro!"

_**Present**_

"Did you…like it?"

Watanuki turned his head to look at his younger lover, whose cheeks were suddenly red with a blush, as he asked. It was funny. Not once during their entire first time had he shown any hint of red. It was adorable, actually, and something he'd never thought he'd ever see.

"More than words can say," he muttered sleepily.

The day was catching up with him of having no time to sleep the night before and working all day long, so he merely curled up like a kitten at Shizuka's side and fell asleep. His breathing was remarkably like that of a tired child's.

Shizuka brushed stray strands of black hair from that beautiful face (the braid had come undone at some point, he wasn't sure when), and took in the lithe and absolutely stunning body of his lover.

He'd never been so happy.

** End of chapter 7 **


	9. Chapter 8

Haruki knew instantly what was different when Shizuka walked through the gates of the school on Wednesday. He didn't know if Kagami would notice anything different, but it was painfully obvious to him at least what had happened. The little bounce in his friend's steps, the too-easy-going atmosphere around him…

There was no mistake.

"Shizuka! Over here!"

Catching his friend's attention wasn't hard and that ambling pace changed direction. It was still really early so they could talk without worrying about the time to rush to classes. He slung an arm around those muscled shoulders in a comradely fashion and Shizuka looked at him curiously.

"So how was it? And don't say 'how was what'. You know exactly what I'm asking."

To his credit, Shizuka flushed a little and sent Haruki an admonishing look. "I'm under no obligation to tell you anything."

"Come on, Shi-chan," he wheedled with a grin, using the nickname from childhood he hadn't spoken in fifteen years. "You're the one that dragged me into your little love-triangle supernatural world. I think I can get to know at least this stuff." Shizuka was still looking stubborn so he lowered his voice a little more and softened his gaze. "It was really great, huh? It always is when it's with the person you really love." He briefly thought back to his first time, with the girl he had thought he'd be with for the rest of his life until she had broken up with a year ago.

"Yeah," Shizuka finally muttered in reply, his voice soft as he remembered. "Most beautiful thing I've ever done."

Haruki grinned. Yup, Shizuka was absolutely besotted with Watanuki Kimihiro and the feeling looked mutual. And damn his sisters for making him so obsessed with romance that he gave a little cheer inside. He'd die of embarrassment if anyone ever found out just what a 'fangirl' his sisters had made him inside.

"You tell anyone of the stuff I tell you about that night and I tell everyone about the collection of romance novels under your bed," Shizuka threatened and Haruki paled visibly.

"You got it, you know I wouldn't tell!"

The next half hour before school was spent in discussing in a small corner of the schoolyard, without comparing and ridiculing, the night that Shizuka had finally lost his virginity.

Watanuki almost dropped the books he was holding when an arm slid around his waist. It didn't take even a second to recognize the body it was attached to and he smiled. His cheeks turned a light red color and he twisted his head to kiss those sweet lips that had made him scream the night before.

"Shizuka," he murmured, having decided to drop the honorific, "are you up for a job?"

"No problem, but I have something I want to ask about first."

Seeing Shizuka unusually serious, Watanuki cocked his head and tried not to worry so much. "All right, come into the bedroom while I put these books away on the shelves." His mind was already swimming with possibilities, but his heart was calm of most the anxieties of losing Shizuka, in light of what had happened the night before.

The high school boy dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed and Watanuki could feel his eyes follow every mood the sorcerer made. It was somewhat disconcerting, but it was easy to hide that behind the bland and gentle expression he had cultivated over the years. He also tried to hide how much his back was aching. As embarrassing as it was, it almost felt as if Shizuka was still inside him and it was only from sheer will that he hadn't been rubbing his bum the entire day.

"What do you know about dreams?"

"Dreams? What kind of dreams?"

He'd already thought about the dreams of Doumeki Haruka, Shizuka's previous life grandfather, when Shizuka continued. "I've had this dream that I don't understand for the past few weeks. It's obvious that it's supernatural in nature, since I only started having it after I started working for you." Those shapely hands were playing with the hem of his blazer and Watanuki shelved the second to last book absently, in the wrong place, but his eyes were glued to the figure of his lover so he didn't notice. "And I even had it again last night. It's just an image in my head: I'm lying in someone's arms and they're crying. I can't see what their face looks like and the whole thing is black and white except for the blood, which is almost too bright. There's this feeling of…disappointment in me, pain, and sadness." Finally their eyes met. "Do you know what this could mean?"

Watanuki didn't realize he was shaking until he almost dropped the remaining book in his hand. The image that Shizuka had told him of evoked the memories of the past and he knew what fully happened as if it had happened not an hour ago. And right then, he wished for nothing more than for Yuuko to be there, to take charge like she had back then. He was powerful and competent in every situation…except the one where Doumeki Shizuka, eighty years ago, died at the age of sixteen.

"Wata—I mean, Kimihiro?"

Slowly, he put the book down and moved to stand over Shizuka's sitting figure on the edge of the bed. "That image is only a part of what your spirit is trying to show you, but your subconscious is preventing it from telling you, probably trying to protect you."

In a terrible show of insight, Shizuka asked, "Is this image part of the reason why all the spirits that I've come across, most act like they know me and then are surprised when I don't know them?"

Watanuki couldn't look away those eyes, no matter how hard he tried. "Yes," he stated flatly, trying frantically to fall back into the detached role of wish-granter, rather than let the painful memories from personal experience overwhelm him.

"Do you know what it is? Is it something big that happened that everyone knows about?"

"Yes."

"Is—is it a personal thing to you?"

Swallowing was growing difficult now, a lump in the middle of his throat. "Yes. Do you want to know? I can force aside your subconscious protection and let you see what your soul has been trying to tell you."

"You won't just tell me?"

"I can't." For so many reasons, he couldn't just _tell_ Shizuka what he was seeing. Perhaps the most important reason was that his heart just wouldn't be able to say it and explain all those obscure details that were inexplicable.

"What would the price be?"

Shizuka had been around him enough to know that nothing came without a price, apparently. It took every inch of his control to avoid letting the pain he was feeling show. It was like punching his heart full of a thousand needles. The price was so high and he absolutely didn't want to say it. Maybe this was why Yuuko had always tried to tell him never to get emotionally involved with customers.

"You'd have to give up your family. You wouldn't be able to see them again. The same with school. If I were to awake it, show you the full meaning of this dream, it will do so much. It will affect you so much, in such a great way, that in order to have it, you have to give up something of equal value."

"What?!" Shizuka was on his feet in seconds, and those lovely green-gold eyes were wide, telling him without words to take it back. To make what he'd just said a lie, or just some joke in terrible bad taste.

Watanuki couldn't think of a word to say as he waited for it to all sink in Shizuka's mind. More than because Watanuki had invited him to the shop, more than the fact that he worked for the sorcerer, this was the reason that Shizuka had been able to enter. This was why he needed the shop.

Hitsuzen was a cruel, cruel thing.

"You mean, I couldn't even see Haruki anymore?! Why?! Why is the price so high?!"

The anger of his lover washed over him, but he was used to anger when telling someone the price they had to pay for a wish, and it enabled him to at least keep a little equilibrium and not break down in pain. "Because once I break the seal your subconscious power put on you, you will have effectively exchanged your entire life. Your power will have lost its caps, making your life as long as mine. You will be fully ensconced in the spirit world, like I am. You wouldn't be a wish-granter like I am, but you'd be in the same 'position' I am, where you would be unable to really return to the life you once had been." He managed a smile, but it was achingly sad. "I had this choice too, when I took over Yuuko-san's position. In essence, having to give up your family and friends is merciful."

"Merciful?! How is losing them all merciful?!"

"You're going to be living a very long time and are going to have to watch those humans around you die long before you will. Outside of the spirit world, you'll be an untouchable force, watching the world age around you and know that you'll never be part of it anymore. You can only watch, unable to influence. Not many can stand that pain of watching all the people they'd ever loved die before their eyes of old age, some never even able to attend funerals because they never look like they age. I wonder if sometimes this was the reason Yuuko-san was always drinking."

Shizuka was shaking and he wanted to reach out and hold him. He wanted to show his empathy. He wanted to tell him how he knew what a hard choice it was, but he knew he'd never be allowed to. He was, at this moment, The Craven. He was the Dimensional Sorcerer. This was his _job_.

"You don't have to, Shizuka," he added, his only attempt at being sympathetic that he was allowed. "You don't have to take it and could just leave things as they are now."

"What…what would that do?" came a small voice, little more than a whisper.

"You would live out your life as it is now, going to school and with your family. You would live like your friend Haruki, in the world you've always known. Right now, you've only put a single foot in the world of the supernatural. It's like a doorway you're standing just outside of. You don't have to enter. You can spend a normal lifespan like this and never have to worry."

"But by this whole thing, taking this deal, I'd be stepping in the doorway?"

Shizuka wouldn't look at him and he began to worry. "Yes, it's exactly like that." When only silence came after a few minutes, he finally reached out with one hand and touched a shoulder that was no longer shaking. "You can go home today, Shizuka. Take as long as you need to think about this. You don't even have to come after school for a few days, or however long it takes until you've come to your decision."

Those eyes wouldn't look at him and he could only watch as his lover trudged out of the shop with a downcast gaze and slumped shoulders. It was only when his presence was gone from even the courtyard that Watanuki allowed himself to show the weakness that had gripped him when Shizuka had brought up the topic and slid down to the floor.

Hitsuzen was a cruel, cruel thing.

"Hey, what's up? Why'd you call me out like this? And here of all places?"

Shizuka looked up as Haruki plopped down next to him. Just looking at his childhood friend's face made him want to just break down and sob like he'd been avoiding doing from the moment Watanuki had told him what the price would be for his wish. Was this the reason he'd been allowed into the shop? It had never occurred to him that maybe he had needed the shop for a wish of his own.

"Haruki…we've known each for a long time, right?"

Haruki laughed lightly. "What is this? The start of this conversation is all weird. You're not going to ask me to be your best man at a wedding or something?"

When Shizuka didn't even smile in response, Haruki seemed to get the idea something was seriously bothering his friend. And like with all the secrets that he'd ever possessed, he found himself spilling out his feelings and what had happened. Desperately, he hung onto his friend's hand, not caring that it might look like they were in love or that he looked like a girl doing it.

Haruki looked shocked and he thanked any god out there that at least because of their close relationship, the basketball player seemed to grasp the severity of the situation. And when their held hands began to shake, the tremors from his friend being transmitted to him, he realized that the depth of feeling for his friend was just as profound.

"Y-you're saying that if you take this…we'd never be able to see each other again? Is that what you're saying? Or that even if we met, that I'd age and you'd live on after me and then we couldn't talk either?"

Shizuka nodded miserably. "God, I don't know what to do, Haruki. I don't have to do this. I don't have to make this wish. I don't have to go through with it. But that means that I'd eventually age and die while Watanuki watched on and I'd lose him. I want to be with him forever, but I don't want to lose you or my family either. Even if they're angry with me now, we'll always be family."

"No, you can't!" Haruki blurted out, his eyes seeming full of panic. "Look, Shizuka, you know I've always supported you, but damn it! For once I'm going to be selfish! You're the best friend I've ever had and the only one that really knows everything about me, the way I know everything about you! I refuse to give you up this easy! I mean, damn it, I want you to be happy and all that jazz, but I want to be there when you're happy!"

A single, solitary tear streaked Shizuka's cheek and he realized that above everything else he'd have to give up, it was Haruki that hurt the most. The pain would be unbearable, just as great as if he had to lose Watanuki. He just didn't know what to do anymore.

"I'm not letting you do this, Shizuka. I'm just a guy and I'm going to be selfish and not lose my best friend!"

"Seems as if you're stuck between a rock and a hard place, Doumeki Shizuka."

Shizuka and Haruki looked up to see a tall, lithe woman standing before them, dressed impeccably in black. Her burgundy eyes were knowing and she looked absolutely stunningly beautiful. The black skirt she wore was businesslike and fell to her knees, the jacket of her business suit elegantly embroidered with purple butterflies. The white shirt she wore underneath it was nothing short of the purest of silks, and the boots she wore, heels of course, came up to the middle of her calves. A hat adorned her hair and he realized that black hair fell all the way down to her knees.

"Who are you?"

"You can call me Ichihara Yuuko."

** End **

No killies please when you read this ;) 


	10. Chapter 9

"You can call me Ichihara Yuuko."

Yuuko…where had he heard that name before? It sounded so very familiar…Oh! When realization crossed Shizuka's face, the grin on Yuuko's widened. She seemed to know him as well, but also seemed to know that he had no idea who she was. And with her entrance, suddenly the park was empty of all the people that had once populated it.

"You're…"

"Yup, I'm _that_ Ichihara Yuuko."

"Who?" Haruki interrupted, looking just plain bewildered.

"She was—"

"Watanuki's predecessor," Yuuko interrupted, taking a nearby seat to face the boys. Seeing the hope that must have crossed his face, she shook her head at Shizuka. "And no, I'm not here to offer you a cure-all, Doumeki-kun. I am still, in fact, retired, which I have no complaints with. I can go wherever I want, whenever I want. I was the Dimensional Witch, also known as The Butterfly, for a very, very long time. I have no intention of picking up _that_ heavy mantle again."

"Then why are you here, if you're not here to help Shizuka?"

An instinct in Shizuka told him not to annoy this woman and he squeezed Haruki's hand to calm him down. Haruki wasn't normally so forward or defensive, but they were both extremely shaken by the news of what Shizuka would have to give up so it was no wonder they were both out of sorts.

She seemed to understand this, in some weird and unfathomable way. "I got a call from a little friend of mine. Doumeki-kun, I believe you know him. His name is Larg."

"Ah, the little black Mokona of Watanuki-san's!"

"Yup! Who is so adorable, by the way!" She giggled like a schoolgirl briefly. "Anyway, Larg called me because things weren't looking good over here and explained why." Almost sadistically, she let the silence stretch until Shizuka was fidgeting with impatience but not daring to interrupt. "And I hate to tell you, Shizuka, but even if I were in Watanuki's place, your price would be the same." She sighed. "I feel sorry for Watanuki the most."

"Why him?! Either way, in essence, doesn't he win?!"

Her burgundy eyes looked with immeasurable deepness at Haruki's outburst. "This is not a situation where someone wins or loses. Watanuki has been waiting a very long time for Doumeki-kun to come to him after what happened. It would be paradise to him to have Doumeki-kun accept the wish, so they could be together forever, but also make him feel oceans of guilt for being the one to deprive Doumeki-kun of his whole life, family, and friends. Should Doumeki-kun choose _not_ to accept the wish and live out his life as normal, it would spare Watanuki the guilt, but also would force him to deal with his grief a _second_ time over Doumeki-kun when he dies, of old age if nothing else."

"A second time?" Shizuka blurted, unable to help interrupting whatever else she might have said. "A _second_ time? Was there even a first time? Can _you_ tell me?"

The former witch gave him a complicated look and pursed her lips in indecision. "I could tell you, but that accomplishes nothing, since you wouldn't understand it anyway and you'd still be in this same predicament of whether to take the wish or not, so I don't see why I should take the time to explain, really."

Shizuka's throat closed on whatever hope he had had when she said that and slumped back against the park bench, as if his energy had been drained out of him. He stared at the expanse of blue sky that reminded him of Watanuki's eyes and the urge to cry hit him again, but this time, he staved off the salty tears until he would be alone.

"However…"

Yuuko's single word penetrated and looked down at her. Her expression was difficult to understand, but it seemed to look like she wasn't sure what she was about to say was a wise thing to do.

"What?"

"First off, I'm going to remind you that I'm only here to advise and I don't do any wish granting anymore." Her eyes became fixed on Haruki. "However…my _advice_ for you, if you really care _that_ much about Doumeki-kun and yet still want him to be happy with Watanuki, is to _go_ to Watanuki and make a wish for yourself."

That idea had not occurred to Shizuka, even after all the time he'd been working for Watanuki. Asking for wishes was always detached from him. As if wishes were for everybody else and that nobody he knew would need a wish. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at his best friend and frowned when Haruki seemed contemplative. He'd seen a lot of wishes turn out bad and he didn't want that for Haruki.

"What sort of wish could you make in this situation?" he muttered, trying to get Yuuko's attention on him. The whole idea of what Haruki might wish for, considering the situation, could not be a good thing. It just smacked of something going _wrong_ at the worst possible moment.

"It's whatever Shino-kun would want in his heart," she replied, crossing her legs elegantly and looking unconcerned. She frowned briefly at a thought in her head and sighed. "Which, I might add Doumeki-kun, you can't influence. No matter what Shino-kun wants, you have to remember that it is what _he_ wants and it's entirely out of your control. You must make your own decision, regardless of whatever Shino-kun decides, so it's best you don't know what he wants to do. This is, after all, your life."

This woman was remarkably annoying, but he hadn't gotten the impression that she was ever the type to tell someone what they wanted to hear. He had never once dreamed that when he agreed to work for Watanuki that this sort of life-altering decision would be placed on him. He'd be leaving school; he'd never talk to Kagami again; he'd never see his parents again; he'd never get to be around Haruki again. He'd be firmly set in the supernatural world. He'd live for a very long time. He'd be with Watanuki forever.

As if she didn't want silence anymore, Yuuko began to just talk and he could only listen absently. "Really, I've been keeping tabs on Watanuki during my retirement and permanent vacation and I'm so proud of him. There were a few things that I would have done differently and he is far softer hearted than I, but I can still find no true faults in his work. I was worried at first how he would interact with the spiritual realm, considering when he was younger he was such a spazz, but he fit in remarkably well. The beginning years were the toughest, since everyone was always comparing him to me, but with most of the new spirits being born that he encounters haven't never met me and can't compare, so he's developing his own standing."

Shizuka wished he really had the time to just spend all day listening to Yuuko talk about Watanuki, as that _was_ his favorite subject, but she apparently had decided that her job was done. Stretching her illegally long, elegant legs, she stood and seemed to take a moment to memorize the park. "So many changes," she murmured under her breath and shook her head.

"You're leaving?"

She glanced at Shizuka then at Haruki, who'd been silent for a suspiciously long time, and shrugged. "What else is there for me to do? I came, I talked, I advised, and now I'm done." Once again, she hesitated as if she wasn't sure she should say any more than that. "Curse me, I've gotten soft!" she muttered and put her hands on her hips, staring down at him severely. "Look, this is your life, but here's the only thing left to say: Nobody can live a life with no regrets, so whichever decision you come to, make sure you pick the one where there are _less_ of them." She paused. "Oh, and something else. Don't ever tell Watanuki I was here.

"Why not?"

"After eighty-odd years, he's finally hitting his stride. I trained him by fire, I suppose you could say, and I just _disappeared_ one day when it was time for him to take over the shop so he would have to do it himself. I didn't want him to have me to rely on; to come to me and ask what to do. Every wish granter ever has had the same treatment in this respect. If I come back now, this early, it will be so easy for him to just start asking for advice and never stop. I want Watanuki strong and I'll only make him weak."

He could only watch as she swept elegantly and mysteriously away and realized then that as much as Watanuki was unreadable, he had nothing on Ichihara Yuuko. From what he had heard, they had sounded similar. Now, he knew that was wrong. They were in no way alike at all. In fact, Watanuki seemed a whole lot friendlier and understandable than that obscure woman.

"Look, Shizuka," Haruki muttered after a moment, pulling his hand from his childhood friend's grasp without their eyes meeting, "Why don't you go back to the shop or your home and think about what you're going to do. Making a decision now, at this point, so soon after…well, that's too fast."

"What are you going to do?" he asked as his friend stood up.

The smile he was flashed was hollow, as if he also had a hard decision he had to make. "I'm gonna go practice my skills on the court, what else?"

Never once in his life had Shizuka ever felt more torn as he walked down the street to go back to his home. How could he possible choose between Haruki and Watanuki? His best friend or his true love?

He hated fate.

Watanuki wished he could say he wasn't surprised when Maru and Moro led Haruki into his study. He glanced over his shoulder at Shizuka's sprawled figure behind him in worry. The boy had been at the shop every day after school like normal for the past three days, but there was no doubt that the decision was weighing on him. No matter how many times he had assured his lover that there was no rush, that he could even wait years before deciding, he wouldn't listen.

"Shino-kun, what a surprise."

"Has he made a decision yet?"

Once again, Watanuki glanced at the sleeping figure and their voices lowered accordingly, even though the drug he'd given his lover to let him get some sleep and freedom from the stress he was self-imposing would most likely keep him from waking from just their voices alone.

"No. I keep telling him that he doesn't have to rush this decision, that he can take as long as he likes, years even, but he seems to think that he must make it very soon."

Haruki shoved his hands in his pockets. "I've got something to talk to you about."

"And what is that?"

"I've got a wish."

"I suspected as much." When Haruki gave him a look of faint surprise, Watanuki smiled indulgently. "If you didn't have a wish, you couldn't have entered this shop."

"Well…it's kind of on a contingent."

"You mean your wish depends on Shizuka's answer."

"You got it," Haruki muttered, almost sullenly. "If he decides…if he chooses you, then I have a wish."

Watanuki didn't ask what that wish because he already knew. It was painfully obvious and he found himself growing jealous. Haruki was loyal beyond all reason to Shizuka and it made him wish that he'd had a friend like that when he had been sixteen. "You want to be with Shizuka right?"

"Yeah…oh wait! Not like that, not like that! I meant that I want to still be friends with him, I'm so not gay. So don't worry, I'm not gonna steal your man or anything!"

At Haruki's embarrassed declaration, Watanuki chuckled. He couldn't help it. "I never thought that's what you meant." Haruki managed a sketchy smile back and shifted, apparently having no inclination to sit down. Watanuki kept his sapphire gaze as steady as he could on the fidgeting figure in a way that was both reassuring and slightly enigmatic.

"So…what'd be my payment for wishing that?"

Now he knew what Yuuko had meant when she complained she'd gotten soft over the years. "The same price as Shizuka's. You don't have any power that will awaken, like Shizuka's, but in order to be with Shizuka like you asked, your lifespan must be stretched more than it should. To lengthen one's life is extremely heavy in terms of price. You'd have to give up what you have now."

"That seems a little…Shizuka's and my price is the same? Shouldn't Shizuka's either be higher or lower than mine?"

"You would think so, but let me explain something to you," Watanuki told him kindly. "If Shizuka chooses for his memories to awake, that'll break the flood lock and the power stored in his spirit, which will in turn lengthen his life. It's different for you. I will not be breaking any seal on your spirit; I will just be lengthening your life. The means are different, but since the end result is the same…"

Haruki didn't seem to fully understand, but Watanuki hadn't expected him to. It was hard to understand how prices worked if you weren't a wish-granter. He leaned back in his chair, turning to stare longingly at his lover behind him. "Are you sure that's what you'll want, though?"

"Absolutely. He needs me and I won't abandon him."

"Such noble intentions."

Haruki flushed. "All right, all right, so that's not entirely the reason I'm doing this. I really want to be with him. He's been with me since I was a kid and we've done everything together. I can't imagine going through life without him. And as much as I think you're a great guy, I can't just hand over someone like a little brother to me to you and say farewell. In order to do that, I'd have to either be a saint or damned uncaring. I'm not a saint and as we've established, I care way too much." Petulantly, the basketball player looked away. "Despite all the thought he's put into this, I know what he's going to choose anyway. He's going to choose you and the only option left for me then is to follow or give up entirely."

Watanuki crossed his hands in his lap and hoped that Haruki wouldn't hate him if Shizuka did indeed choose to accept his wish and the payment. "Well, Shino-kun, if Shizuka does accept the consequences and 'choose me' as you put it, I will grant your wish. I just hope you're fully aware of the cost because once you agree, you can't forfeit or have a change of mind."

"I know that very well."

** End **


	11. Chapter 10

It was two weeks after the great revelation that Shizuka made his decision. Watanuki couldn't deny he was happy, but guilt wracked him. The prospect of spending the rest of his life with a constant companion was nothing short of a dream come true, yet at the same time, he could only think of what he was depriving his love of.

Thankfully, to assuage the guiltiness he felt, Shizuka had finally consented that it wasn't critical to have his wish granted right that second. As much as he wanted Shizuka to remember their past together, he couldn't condone taking away Shizuka's whole life when he was in the middle of his senior year. Perhaps it was Haruki's words that had reminded him that he was being especially selfish about the whole thing.

Once Shizuka's tension over his decision had gone, the whole atmosphere between them had gone back to normal. Perhaps it was just the act of making the decision, more than what that decision would bring, that brought the relief to his lover. He'd felt it the same when he had finally decided to take up Yuuko's role when she'd offered it.

"Wat—Kimihiro-san!"

Watanuki chuckled. It was taking a bit of getting used to it before Shizuka would drop the honorifics. Probably his parents influence of hammering honorifics into his head. The wish granter looked up from the small bush he was currently shaping in the backyard at his lover's voice and smiled.

Wait…wasn't it a little early?

"What are you doing here, Shizuka? School should be let out later, shouldn't it?"

Shizuka, having followed the sound of the sorcerer's voice, fidgeted in the doorway. "Seniors got out early today. I didn't think you'd mind if I came early today." That roguish grin shivered through him and he couldn't help smiling back a bit.

"You know I don't mind." Standing up, Watanuki dusted off his pants and stretched his stiff back. Maru and Moro had worn themselves out with all their playing and he knew they were currently dozing like tired children in their room, so it was quiet of their sweet but somewhat annoying chanting.

"Where are—"

"Maru and Moro are sleeping. Sol and Larg are…well, I don't really know where they are. Probably in the kitchen or the storeroom." It was somewhat nerve wracking when he didn't know where those two little creatures went, since they were like little baby Yuuko's.

That thought was enough to give him nightmares.

"Then…"

"Then?"

He didn't have much of a chance to react as he was suddenly enveloped in a strong grip. Being in Shizuka's arms was the epitome of safety and the warmth that penetrated even through his clothing was reassuring and loving. Automatically he leaned against that stronger body, head falling perfectly in the crook of Shizuka's neck. Slowly, those fingers rose to run through the sorcerer's hair and like a person besotted with those they loved, he felt every touch tingle through him all throughout his body.

"You didn't braid your hair today…it's beautiful."

It was one of the rare moments when he hadn't touched his hair that day and he wondered if it made him look like a woman. That was one of the reasons he had been nervous at first of growing out his hair during his teenage years. He was glad that he had, though, since Shizuka had a somewhat alarming fixation on his hair. Despite the fact that they hadn't had sex a second time, whenever they would sleep in Watanuki's bed, the sorcerer lost count how many times he had woken to find Shizuka playing with the ends of black strands.

An arm slid around his thin waist, hand sliding up his back underneath his robe to dislodge it so he could see the kimono the older man wore. Tiny shivers wracked his spine and his eyes closed in those heavenly sensations.

"I know it's because I'm young and all, but I want to have sex with you right now."

The blunt words whispered in his ear shattered the romantic atmosphere and his head jerked up. Red flushed his cheeks but before he could get an indignant sentence out, his lips were captured and Shizuka's tongue did a remarkable job at making him reconsider admonishing the teenager.

Suddenly his wrist was grabbed and he stumbled back inside the shop. When their eyes met ever so briefly, Watanuki felt his whole body heat in response to what he saw. The raw need of a young man was enough to make him blush, but the fact that it was Shizuka and he was aroused over him caused his own body to realize that it wanted to be desired as it was then.

They didn't make it to his bedroom, but instead ended up detouring into his study. It all happened so very fast that Watanuki barely had time to register that he was being pressed on his back on a mass of pillows underneath him.

"Wait, Shizuka!" he stuttered as those young, eager hands were pushing aside the bottom of his kimono and sliding up his thighs, "the girls…"

"They're sleeping, you said so yourself," Shizuka countered without missing a beat and raining kisses down on the sorcerer's taunt neck muscles.

"But…!"

His protests seemed to finally get to his lover since they paused the movements of those erotic hands. The heat of the younger body left his and he managed to finally prop himself up on his elbows, but if he had expected that he would get time to stand up and make it to his bedroom, if nothing else, he was dead wrong. Shizuka had only left to lock the door before he was heading back.

"Hey," he protested again, hands reaching out to press against those large shoulders when Shizuka knelt over him again. "What's gotten into you…?"

A small scuffle ensued as he tried to wriggle away and when it ended, Watanuki found himself straddling his younger lover, those strong hands gripping his waist tightly. There was little sense amid the need of Shizuka's eyes and their hips were ground together so that they both groaned.

There was no point in arguing any more, Watanuki knew, since he was growing erect himself. Thankfully he was wearing something simple as a kimono, only chosen because he had felt lazy that morning. That couldn't have been anything other than hitsuzen.

"Please, Kimihiro…you're so hot and I want you so bad…"

Watanuki had never had any success, really, in denying Shizuka anything. Even when they had been sixteen, despite his protests, he _had_ kept making the boy lunches. Just went to show that he had an inability to say no to this particular person. One of those hands seemed to take his silence as agreement because it slid slowly up his thigh to grip his butt, fingers seeking out his entrance eagerly.

"I want to be in you really bad…"

"Could you _not_ say all that embarrassing stuff?" he snapped breathlessly, but Shizuka only grinned, as if he found the response amusing.

A hiss of breath worked between his gritted teeth when a finger penetrated him, getting him ready. Watanuki's hands grabbed fistfuls of the fabric of Shizuka's uniform as sensitive spot was found and touched expertly. As if that wasn't enough, his lover leaned up in a half sitting position, his other hand pushing the top of his kimono off his shoulders to pool at his waist.

"You're so beautiful, Kimihiro. The color of your nipples is such a perfect pink…"

"Would you stop—ahh!" Those lips which had uttered those embarrassing and erotic words had clamped down and began suckling with a fervor on his chest, tongue flicking out to roll the nub of flesh until it was as erect as his member down below.

"I won't," Shizuka countered, pressing a second finger into Watanuki and he let out a cry as they gently fell into a scissor like motion that was like torture. "I've been wanting to tell you this stuff for the longest time."

"Pervert," he hissed and his hands frantically worked on the buttons of Shizuka's shirt until he was able to touch and fondle that beautiful, bronze skin.

"Not a single scar…no woman's skin can compare to yours…" His lover effortlessly switched to the nipple he had ignored before and the vibrations of his words against his chest only made Watanuki's arousal worse. "Such a virgin body…"

"Shi…zuka!"

When the third finger slipped in easily he was ready to scream in frustration. He wanted to feel his lover inside him, wanted to remember the heaven they'd achieved a few weeks ago. His nails scraped lightly over Shizuka's back to finally twine in that short black hair tightly. If there was one thing that hadn't changed in the past eighty-odd years, it was his pride, which refused to let him beg, but he was on the verge of it.

"Damn, Kimihiro…I need to be in you. I want to memorize your heat. Let me take you…"

Watanuki could only whimper in response, but Shizuka took that as the yes it was and with a grunt, he pulled out his fingers. For a few seconds while Shizuka fumbled with the belt of his pants, the sorcerer felt incredibly empty until with a powerful thrust, Shizuka was inside him. He couldn't contain his cry of pleasure and slight pain. Fingers were nowhere as long or as thick as his lover…nowhere near good enough for his need.

There was a long, drawn out moan from Shizuka beneath him as he pressed fully into the wish granter. "You feel so damn good…"

"Just…shut…up," Watanuki snapped again through gritted teeth, his cheeks growing ever warmer from all that his lover was saying. It was more than embarrassingly erotic. He wanted to hear it and at the same time, wished he could just tape Shizuka's mouth shut so he couldn't.

He must have forgotten what it felt like to be a healthy, young high school boy because the vigor of Shizuka's thrusts startled him. Oftentimes, he'd come across a comparison of a young man and a stallion horse and for the first time, as he rode Shizuka, he understood that saying.

Shizuka's hand snuck under his kimono once again and Watanuki's throbbing arousal was gripped tightly. He let out a scream of pleasure as he was pumped and his lips frantically sought out his lover's for a deep kiss. An eternity of this bliss with Shizuka would be far more than he could ever expect.

"You look so erotic wearing that kimono while we're doing this…" Shizuka muttered against the taunt neck of the older man.

"Shizuka…don't stop…please don't stop…! Harder, much harder…"

More words fell from his lips, but Watanuki didn't really want to remember the slutty things he was saying. Most of what he said brought that smug grin to Shizuka's lips, reminding him somewhat of when they'd both been sixteen together. It seemed that over the past few weeks, his lover was growing more confidence in their relationship.

If it meant this was the treatment he'd be getting, he'd gladly let that confidence get as big as it wanted.

He blamed Shizuka entirely for his sluttish words and actions. The boy never ceased to bring out the worst in him when it came to sex and left him a begging mess. His voice was growing hoarse from his whimpers and pleas and Shizuka was all too good at those erotic and deep kisses he was being showered with.

"Ahh, I-I'm coming, Shi…zuka…"

Watanuki barely got out the warning in time before his cum soaked Shizuka's fingers. Even as his lover lifted his hand to lick the liquid off his hand, his thrusts came harder until seconds later, he felt the wetness of Shizuka's release penetrate him.

He slumped against his lover for a few moments of rest, the sweat on his body hot and making his kimono stick to him. For someone who was only having his second time as sex, Shizuka was remarkably good at finding all of Watanuki's sensitive spots.

"Kimihiro…"

"Yes?"

"Again."

"_What?!_" he blurted seconds before he found himself on his back and Shizuka spreading his legs wider. Red flushed his cheeks immediately when Shizuka spent a few silent moments admiring his body. And damn it, it was embarrassing to admit that when Shizuka was staring at him like that, it aroused him and his half-softened erection grew hard under those eyes.

"You're so beautiful, Kimihiro. Especially here…"

A hand once again wrapped around him and Shizuka leaned in close. He could feel the rock-hard arousal of his lover rubbing against his entrance and he couldn't have been redder.

And then suddenly, Shizuka moved down to kiss his erection and Watanuki let out another cry. He wasn't going to be leaving this room any time soon, apparently.

"Ahhh, to have a younger lover…They really have no end to their energy. High school boys really _are_ the best."

Watanuki groaned as his eyes opened. It didn't even take a few seconds before he recognized the sound of that voice. As he had predicted, he'd been in his study for the past three hours and most of that had been taken up by Shizuka's desires until he'd finally collapsed from exhaustion.

His head lifted to look at now-open window of the study. Yuuko perched on the windowsill, smoking her standard pipe, and grinned at him as she noticed that while he was not entirely naked, he might as well be since his kimono was all but wholly off. Shizuka had really found having sex while he wore his kimono erotic.

In embarrassment, he awkwardly closed the kimono and gently wormed from Shizuka's snuggle. Not wanting Yuuko to see what only belonged to him, Watanuki reached over and draped the discarded robe he'd worn over his kimono over his lover. There wasn't even a twitch from Shizuka.

He'd really worn himself out.

Uncomfortably, he found that he could barely stand and it didn't help that Yuuko's eyes hadn't left him. Her amusement annoyed him as usual and with as much dignity as he could manage, he tottered over to her near the window, leaning against the wall to keep him standing. His legs felt like jelly and he tried to ignore the trickle that went down his inner thigh. Shizuka's release…

"What are you doing here, Yuuko-san? You disappeared so suddenly so long ago…"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. Plus, I wanted to talk with Sol and Larg for a bit. I was waiting for you. I ended up having a chess match with each of them by the time you two were finished!" Watanuki flushed, but didn't have a chance to interrupt, as she continued on. "Honestly, you two…! Let's hope you don't do this _every_ day, otherwise you'll never get anything done. But I should have expected it."

Her grin was the same as always and as always, he felt the urge to strangle her. "We _don't_ do it every day. In fact, today was only the second time." Or rather, would have been only the second time, if Shizuka hadn't been as horny as only a teenage boy could be.

"What a horrible tease you are, then! It seems to _me_, since you can't even _walk_ right now, that Doumeki-kun has been holding back for a long while now."

"_Must_ you always twist my words whenever I talk?" Watanuki muttered petulantly and she laughed.

"Yes, Watanuki, I _must_ because it's so fun." There was a moment of silence between them as she dumped a few ashes from her pipe, her smile fading just a little in its brightness. "Don't tell the girls or anyone that I was here."

"All right." Watanuki didn't ask why she didn't want to be known because as much as he wanted to kill her half the time, he did respect her quite a bit. For as long as she had been the Dimensional Witch, she'd probably never gotten a vacation and after those many years of cynicism, who would want to be pulled back into the world you'd finally left?

"Let me tell you about my boyfriend, Watanuki! Or future boyfriend, actually," she told him, smile lighting up. "He's a high school boy too. I believe you know him. His name is Haruki…"

"Shino-kun!" he gaped. "You can't…! He's Shizuka's friend and well…he's…" How could he say that there was no way that Haruki could ever be able to survive Yuuko?

"I'll tell you all about what happened between us over cake, so…! No wait…how about a peanut butter, chocolate swirl pie?! I'd had one in America and it was so heavenly! Plus, I know you still have my wine in the cellar, so bring that with you when you come to the kitchen!"

She was already sauntering away as he yelled as quietly as he could to not wake Shizuka, "_I can't **walk** right now!_"

** End **  



	12. Chapter 11

By the time Watanuki had cleaned up and painstakingly made his way to the kitchen, all the while not having woken up Shizuka, Yuuko was already waiting there. She gave him a grin and waved from her comfortable in the kitchen island counter stool. There was her favorite wine bottle sitting next to her, so she had obviously gotten tired of waiting for him and gotten it herself.

"So, Watanuki, make me something incredibly sweet to eat while I talk."

Her smile had gotten wider and she waved the bottle at him in a salute and he sent her a blistering glare as he tottered over to get out what he'd need for a small pie. He was not about to kill himself to make something huge for her, especially when his back felt as if someone had electrified it beyond all hope.

"Anyway," Yuuko chattered when it appeared as if he wasn't going to just keel over in pain, "this Haruki is actually really quite cute. I'm in the market, I suppose you could say, for a boyfriend. I haven't dated anyone since Clow Reed and I wouldn't exactly call _that_ dating. He was actually quite…"

Watanuki glanced over his shoulder when she didn't finish and she looked positively _green_ at the thought of Clow Reed and he wondered if he really had been that bad. "From what I heard, Yuuko-san, the Ame Warashi said that you and he were actually really similar," he jibed ever so lightly. It was one of the rare times he ever got a sly word in edgewise with Yuuko, and he knew he'd pay for it, but it just felt so good to be able to say it.

The stare she gave him made him sweat and he looked around to make sure there were no sharp, pointy objects in her nearest vicinity that she wouldn't have to get up to get. Apparently there wasn't, but she looked like she wanted to bludgeon him to death with a blunt object of some sort. Maybe her favorite toy duck.

"That Ame Warashi…Sometimes I wish I never met her," came a mutter that he was sure he wasn't supposed to hear. "Anyway, I'm so old that I feel like a cradle robber when I think about dating Haruki. You seem to have met him before. Tell me what he's like."

Watanuki looked at her suspiciously, knowing that there was never an innocent question with Yuuko, but unable to figure out what sort of tone that meant. "He's a nice kid, I guess. Very devoted to Shizuka, at least. He's on the basketball team, from what I heard, and he doesn't have a girlfriend…or boyfriend. That's all I know about him."

"Watanuki, you absolutely suck at gathering info," Yuuko complained and poured herself another cup of the wine while he very carefully bent down to put the pie crust he'd mixed in the oven to cook. Yuuko loved everything being made from scratch and since he trusted nothing outside of his own cooking, he gladly obliged.

"Sorry," he retorted back sharply, "but I wasn't aware I had to be a spy on Shizuka's best friend." Slowly and painfully, he lowered himself to sit down on another hard stool opposite of his former boss and sighed.

"Have you forgotten everything I told you? Whenever you meet _anyone_ with potential wish probabilities, you have to find out everything you can about them. Especially when your _mentor_, the one who taught you it all, finally visits and wants to know about a potential boyfriend! Where's the respect? Young people these days!"

With sleepy eyes, Watanuki withstood Yuuko's rant, but he could tell she wasn't angry, since that sly, shit-eating grin on her face couldn't have been larger. She enjoyed teasing and yelling at him far too much for his piece of mind. His eyes wandered to the oven every so often to make sure the crust wasn't going to burn and listened half-heartedly.

"Watanuki! Pay attention! As I was saying, I caught a glimpse of Haruki across the crowded street the other day and really, he looks so full of energy. I haven't gotten laid for a long time. I stopped counting after 250 passed without so much as seeing a guy step within twenty feet of my bedroom."

He dropped his face in his hands and groaned. "I didn't want to _know_ that, Yuuko-san. What happened to the mysterious, elegant Dimensional Witch?!"

She laughed at him and made him look at her. "Watanuki, dear, I'm _**retired**_. I can say and do whatever I want." Her amusement filled burgundy eyes darkened with emotion, even if her voice tried to keep the upbeat tone. "Besides, now I can sleep with anyone or date anyone that I want without having to wonder if I'll see them enter the shop the next time or go to a funeral because they didn't listen to me about their wish. Do you know what kind of freedom that is to me after all these years?"

Watanuki was too sympathetic, he knew, because the tension left his shoulders and he felt sorry for her. But she wasn't looking for platitudes and showing his sympathy would only get a derisive comment, it seemed to be automatic rather than conscious thought, and he stood up to pull out the crust in the oven and let it cool. "So what about Shino-kun caught your eye then?" he changed the subject. "Wait, how do you even know his name?"

That grin came back and the dark emotions in her eyes receded until she was exactly like he was used to her being. "Do you _really_ want to know my method? I _suppose_ I could teach it to you…_for old time's sake_."

"When you say, old time's sake, you mean I'd have to compensate you, right?" he muttered and she only giggled and nodded enthusiastically. "Then I'll pass."

"I thought so," she muttered smugly and immediately jumped back to talking about Haruki and all the "nicely shaped" men she'd met on her travels now that she was retired.

Watanuki could only feel that the door to the kitchen, which was his ultimate escape, growing farther and farther away…

****

By the time Shizuka blinked his eyes, the sky was turning twilight with golds and yellows on the horizon. Frowning when he realized Watanuki was nowhere in his line of sight, he stood up and pulled on his pants, not even bothering with a shirt in his haste to find his lover.

He ran across Soel and Larg on the way amid a game of cards and they helpfully pointed the way to the kitchen. There was suspicious giggling as he turned away and he wondered if it was the fact that he was shirtless or if it was suddenly obvious what the two had been doing. His cheeks blushed a little and he really should apologize to Watanuki. After all, he was no doubt very sore.

"Kimihiro-san?"

Watanuki looked up from his tea and his faraway gaze blinked into focus. "Shizuka? You're up? I began to wonder if you'd sleep until tomorrow morning."

His red cheeks turned darker and he fidgeted in the doorway. "I…" Watanuki's eyes touched his and seemed to beg him not to apologize and he let out a relieved sigh. "Never mind. Were you baking something?" he asked curiosity, noting the pans soaking in the sink.

"I made a pie for Soel and Larg, that's all."

Without conscious thought about it, Shizuka's feet took him around to his lover and wrapped him in a tight hug from behind. "How are you feeling? Really sore?"

One slim hand came up and rested on one of Shizuka's wrists and as always, it sent a delicious thrill through his body. "I was a while ago, but I'm mostly fine now. Did something happen today? You seemed…more forceful today."

"I don't know, really," Shizuka muttered, confused himself about it. "Sure, we hadn't done anything for the last couple of weeks, but it wasn't like I was at my limit, or I wouldn't have thought it. I just had this…feeling." He shrugged. "Either way, it was probably the most erotic and wonderful day in my life."

He kissed those suddenly blushing cheeks and knew that he'd rather spend the entire night there with Watanuki just talking than go home to his parents, but that wasn't an option. The sorcerer leaned back against his chest and his heart swelled a little. He'd gladly be the only pillar that Watanuki could trust and it'd make him the happiest he'd ever been.

"Kimihiro-san…what do you think about going on a trip with me? Golden week is coming up in a few weeks and I'm sure you know some great places to go. Or do you always have to be in the shop?"

"I'm not chained to the shop. Yuuko often left, though mostly for business purposes." There was a moment of silence where Shizuka only stood there and breathed in the scent of his lover's long, long hair. He tugged a few strands between his fingers and let his eyes fall closed, just enjoying the silky softness. "But I would love to go on a trip with you one day."

"I'm glad. Now let's go to bed. I'm up for another round."

"_**What?!**_"

** End **


	13. Chapter 12 A: Oneshot

Shizuka propped himself up on one elbow and his lazy eyes watched that of his lover get dressed in a silken robe. Even in the middle of the night, even when they had just finished making love, duty called and apparently someone had come into the shop. The bed was still extremely warm and the indentation of Watanuki's body remained.

"Would you stop looking like that?"

The annoyed comment made him look up and he grinned a little. "Look like what?"

"Like…like…" Watanuki's cheeks flushed red and Shizuka glanced down at himself, at his naked body covered only by one flimsy sheet around his hips. He was currently lying on his side and he knew very well that his lover adored his well-built body.

"Like a young godling?"

"You're so full of yourself…!"

With that muttered comment thrown over his shoulder, the sorcerer stalked from the bedroom. He knew the only reason that usually gentle and composed mask was so annoyed was that they had both been extremely ready for another round before the 'crisis' had happened, requiring his presence.

Shizuka flopped back onto his back and stared at the ceiling. It had been nearly fifty years since he had gotten his wish granted and he understood the steepness of the price now. Ever since it had happened, he had noticed that his mentality had changed slightly. He looked at things in a different way. Despite his appearance that looked no older than twenty-one, his father had finally just passed away three years, along with his mother and they had both reached the ripe age of seventy-ish.

It had also been fifty-two years since he had regained his memories. He knew now why all the spirits had acted as they had that he'd met before. The dreams no longer bothered him and strangely enough, he never felt regret over his death. He couldn't really be sure if he'd told Watanuki how he'd felt, but he would tend to think he possibly did. Even the fact that he hadn't heard Watanuki's reply before he died didn't bother him, since by the time he had been "awakened" to his memories, they'd already progressed to a deep relationship.

Restlessly, when Watanuki didn't return after twenty minutes, he crawled from the bed and pulled on a pair of loose, silk black pajama bottoms and a matching black robe. Annoyingly, the belt for the robe was nowhere to be found. Had he used it last week to tie Watanuki's hands? He couldn't remember, but it had gone missing since then.

His bare feet touched the cold, bare floor and he winced a little, but cornered one of the girls. Moro pointed to the entrance door and he frowned. What was Watanuki still doing in the front entryway in the loose clothes he'd gone out in? The robe he wore billowed out a little when he purposely strode up and leaned in the doorway that led to the interior of the shop.

"Oh…"

He heard the shocked word from the woman currently arguing with Watanuki when she saw him and he figured her red face was because she was having a hard time peeling her eyes away from his bare chest and the pants that clung lightly to his hips. Watanuki was absolutely, stunningly beautiful and his whole being would fill with jealousy when someone would stare at him, mostly men, especially the long hair that Shizuka just loved. So if he could just get everyone's attention on him, then they wouldn't be inclined to notice just how truly wonderful his beloved was and attempt to steal him.

Worked out all right to him, but it drove Watanuki insane with jealousy instead. This time was no exception.

His lover sent him a look that was torn between a blistering glare and a soft and lusty admiration for the youthful, toned body he sported. Languidly, he straightened and sauntered over to the silenced, bickering pair, draping an arm over his beloved's shoulders in a possessive way.

Shizuka entirely ignored the woman's existence and pointedly ran his lips lightly over Watanuki's neck, feeling a shiver go through that slim body unconsciously. "Come back to bed, so I can make you warm again," he murmured in a sultry tone, making sure it was just loud enough for them both to hear.

He watched with amusement was the sorcerer's cheeks flooded with red and enjoyed the scandalized gasp from the customer. Since Watanuki's vocal cords seemed to be currently strangled with shock, Shizuka looked at the woman as if it was the first time he had noticed her. "Sorry, but the shop is currently closed. Come back during the day."

As if waiting for their cue, Maru and Moro hurried out to the entryway and almost forcefully pulled her out the door, locking it very carefully. And then Shizuka merely waited, not moving from his position, waiting for the inevitable. After almost 135 years of being the wish granter, Watanuki had grown past the age for spazzing out, but that did not change the fact that he still got yelled and sniped at occasionally.

"You…you…"

Shizuka grabbed Watanuki's shaking hand and merely began tugging him back to the bedroom, interrupting before his lover could gather his wits enough to put a coherent sentence together through his shock and possibly anger. "Kimihiro, it's midnight. The shop is _closed_, especially after we've been interrupted."

"You don't seem to get it! This is my _job!_ You can't just—oof!"

Shizuka took advantage of the fact that his lover's sentence was interrupted when he'd tossed them on the bed and shoved his tongue in that lovely, addicting mouth. It was the best way to stop an argument, he'd learned and already his hands were busy pulling off the robe that Watanuki had pulled on.

"Just a robe, not even underwear…Naughty," he teased, nipping lightly at the flesh of Watanuki's neck. "Or were you planning to come back and continue?"

"Shut…up…" Watanuki retorted, but as usual it was breathy and lacking conviction, since Shizuka's thumbs were currently paying all sorts of attentions to nipples. "What…was up…with coming…like _that_? No…shirt…on…!"

Apparently stopping an argument with sex didn't _always_ work, but Shizuka was not about to let the night go to waste, especially since they'd be interrupted in the first place. Slowly, he kissed down his lover's body until he'd reached that hard arousal, murmuring, "Got her to go away, didn't it?"

"Only…I'm…supposed to…see that…" The petulant complaint was suddenly interrupted by a cry of pleasure as Shizuka had encased Watanuki's member in his hot mouth. He'd learned very quickly what things Watanuki really loved and despite the fact that he said it was always embarrassing, this was one of those things. Already, his lover was dripping and his tongue ran along the underside painfully slowly.

"She won't tell anyone, so stop complaining," Shizuka muttered finally, pulling away just when he knew Watanuki was close to the edge on purpose. Slight punishment for wanting to argue in the midst of their lovemaking, that act that Shizuka held sacred.

Watanuki groaned and watched helplessly and Shizuka pulled off his pants and robe. Leaning down again, he licked the sweat slowly forming on his lover's body before cajoling Watanuki to roll over. He could feel his own need pulsing between his legs and he wanted nothing more than to feel Watanuki encase him in heat.

"I hate it…when people stare at you…"

"You're just jealous. I do it on purpose you know," Shizuka told him, letting his tongue find Watanuki's entrance and press in. Watanuki gripped the sheets tightly and the little gasps that permeated the bedroom made him smile.

"W-why?"

"So people don't look at you," he replied before pressing his cock in hard, effectively ending further conversation. And as always, there was never a more pleasant sensation than when he penetrated Watanuki. It was beyond heavenly.

Watanuki had often said that he wasn't at all similar to who he had been before he'd died, and he supposed that in some respects, that was true. He still wasn't as stoic as he had been back then and he talked a lot more now. The main thing that had changed, he found, when he'd regained his memories was that he had begun to act far more grown-up.

His lover also said the sex and embarrassingly erotic things he said had not changed at all. He just didn't realize that he did it because Watanuki told him not to.

"Harder…harder, Shizuka…"

Shizuka complied, having been lost in his own thoughts for a few seconds. He leaned down over that beautiful back, some of that long black hair sticking to the sweet skin with sweat and he left kisses over the shoulder blades. It made Watanuki shake all over and his hand slipped teasingly between those sensitive thighs to grab his lover's cock in a way that he knew would produce a scream of pleasure.

His free hand wrapped around the pale chest and ran his fingers through Watanuki's long hair, having spent most of his time almost begging the sorcerer not to cut it. "You're so very hot with long hair," he murmured into the small of Watanuki's back and increased the speed of his thrusts, making his lover unable to reply.

The panting was growing harder, more frequent and he could feel by the wetness that was coating his fingers that Watanuki was nearing completion. He dragged the wish granter onto his lap, supporting him as he thrust upwards and the trembling in those delicate limbs increased until with a cry that reverberated straight into his heart, Watanuki came. It wasn't more than two or three thrusts later that Shizuka joined him in bliss.

---

"Hey…"

"What?"

"What did you mean when you said you look good on purpose so people won't look at me?"

Shizuka looked down at Watanuki nearly fading off to sleep at around three in the morning, having finally exhausted themselves once again. With a soft smile, he wrapped his strong arms around tired form of his beloved and left a sweet kiss on a wrinkled brow. He didn't know if Watanuki would hear him, but he said it anyway:

"Because if people look at you, they'll realize that there really are angels on earth."

** Fin **


	14. Chapter 12 B: Oneshot

_Note: Minor references to Legal Drug. No knowledge necessary to understand._

Haruki glanced up from his work when the bell over the door jingled. He knew who it was, but he looked anyway. Every day at the same time, she came into the store, without fail, and it had become his constant over the past fifty-some odd years after his wish had been granted along side his best friend's, Shizuka's.

Ichihara Yuuko.

She seemed fascinated with him and thought of things that he hadn't. It hadn't, for example, occurred to him what to do with his life once his wish was granted. It would have to be some sort of supernatural thing. Apparently with her contacts, she helped him out until he was part owner of a story called the Green Drug Store. The other two owners weren't often there, but he had been told that they held special powers.

"Haruki!"

He watched as she, as usual, jumped up to sit on the counter regardless of the people in the store. He had long since stopped arguing with her about it, since she would never do what he said. "Hello, Yuuko-san."

"Aww, Haruki, I've told you so many times to call me Yuuko."

Honestly, he didn't know what she did during the days or what she really wanted from him. After all, he'd been explained about what happened in Shizuka's memories and he realized that he was always the outsider. She knew Watanuki and Shizuka, was a very powerful sorceress and all in all, perfectly beautiful. He didn't have any powers and only had this long life because of a wish.

"Come on to the back, I'm about done today for my part." He gestured to one of the other newbie workers, a boy barely fifteen and competent at nothing but falling over his own shoes, to take the register and went to the office in the back, the other woman trailing behind him. She was extremely tall and she'd once told him that he was one of the few people that she'd met that was her height.

"What good luck!" she exclaimed and immediately dropped down on the sofa that had been there when he'd arrived. It seemed to have a perfect indentation of a sleeping person there and he'd saw no fit need to replace it when she lay there so comfortably.

"How long has it been since you've started this whole thing? You come here every single day. What do you want?"

"I already told you. It's my campaign to make you fall in love with me."

Haruki rubbed his eyes and sighed. Several years ago she'd told him that she wanted to date him, which had been fine, until the issue of intimate situations came up. Perhaps he was old fashioned, perhaps it was all those romance books, but he believed in love when you had sex with someone. She was fun to be around, very strange, but he couldn't, in good conscious, say that his feelings were love.

"And I already told you that if you just want to do _that_, you can find someone else. I want a steady relationship."

Yuuko gifted him with a soft smile, the likes of which he had learned were extremely rare, and told him, "I believe I've mentioned several times now that I really do like you a lot and I'm not just interested in _that_. If I were, I could find someone else, as you said, easily."

The woman tended to make him nervous, especially considering what he knew about her. From what he'd learned from Watanuki about how she'd been when she'd controlled the shop, he had a sneaking suspicion that she took it easy on him. In other words, she could be a whole lot worse than the confusing mess she currently heaped on him every day at a set time.

"Why me?" he asked at last, sorting the papers aimlessly, since he had already done them before. He wasn't about to admit it to her, but he did find her visits enjoyable and didn't want to be distracted by work when she showed up. That did not, however, mean that he didn't want it to _seem_ as if had no work to do.

"I think the main reason before was because you didn't know me," she said after a minute. "You had no idea even who I was, with no preconceptions, but at the same time, wasn't someone that wouldn't believe or understand me. After that, I found out you have the same type of humor as I do and while you're not nearly as fun to tease as Watanuki, you have other appeals."

"Are you being serious?"

"Of course," she rebounded back and giggled.

"…Sure," he muttered, not believing she was serious. Maybe if he'd known as long as Watanuki had, he'd be able to pick out when she was serious or not, regardless of her actions. But despite the fact that she came every day, he never got the feeling that he was any closer to understanding her from the day before.

The few hours she spent at the shop passed by as usual with just talk and his mind never ceased to turn over and over the puzzle that was Ichihara Yuuko. Sometimes he would swear he got to see sides of her no one else did and other times he would be positive that he was just being made a fool of.

"Time's up then. See you tomorrow," she told him and as usual, leaned over the desk to give him a chaste kiss.

The door closed with finality behind her, as it always did, and Haruki was left wondering why his heart still pounded for minutes afterwards.

** End **


End file.
